11 July 2023 , 14:00
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Vital military gear for Ukraine bought with cash from a £770million international fund has still not been sent to Kyiv - 11 months after the scheme was set up.
NATO leaders are meeting in Vilnius to discuss how best to help Volodymyr Zelensky ’s regime repel Russian invaders.
But the Mirror can reveal that equipment ordered from a pot of cash has yet to be sent to the war-torn nation - despite the fund being set up last August.
Defence Minister James Cartlidge said: “The International Fund for Ukraine announced the first major package of capabilities from urgent bidding round one on February 15, 2023.
“Following commercial checks and negotiations to confirm specifications, contractual terms and costs, six contracts have been placed as at July 7, 2023, and three of these are planned to begin delivering capabilities to the Ukrainian armed forces later this month.”
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Rishi Sunak is in Lithuania to meet fellow NATO leaders (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)The IFU, which was launched in August, is run by Britain’s Ministry of Defence working with six other countries: Norway, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland and Lithuania.
The UK has injected £500m into what it described as “a mechanism that uses funding from international partners to procure priority military assistance for Ukraine at pace”.
It claimed: “This will ensure the continued supply of military support – lethal and non-lethal – to Ukraine through 2023 and beyond.”
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Shadow Defence Secretary John Healey told the Mirror: “Labour fully supports UK military aid to Ukraine and reinforcing NATO allies. As the Ukrainian counter-offensive continues, the Government should be accelerating support but is on a go-slow with this weapons fund.
“Ministers are risking the UK’s reputation with NATO allies by failing to deliver on the IFU. The Government must urgently fix this fund so Ukraine gets more vital military kit to defend itself against Putin’s illegal invasion.”
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