(Reuters) -The British government said on Tuesday it will provide Ukraine with more than 70 combat and logistic vehicles, thousands of rounds of ammunition for Challenger 2 tanks, and a 50 million pound ($64.7 million) support package for equipment repair.
Britain also said that all Group of Seven (G7) members – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and United States – were expected to sign a new framework on Wednesday that would provide long-term, bilateral security commitments for Ukraine, that would be detailed in due course.
NATO leaders were meeting at a summit in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, while a Ukrainian counteroffensive struggled to make headway against Russian occupying forces.
On Tuesday, NATO leaders said that Ukraine should be able to join the military alliance at some point in the future but they stopped short of offering Kyiv an immediate invitation, angering Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
“Supporting Ukraine’s progress on the pathway to NATO membership, coupled with formal, multilateral, and bilateral agreements and the overwhelming support of NATO members will send a strong signal to President Putin and return peace to Europe,” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in a statement released by the government.
Sunak will strongly support simplifying the path to Ukraine’s NATO membership, Britain added.
Along with the support package, Britain will also launch a project through NATO to establish a medical rehabilitation centre for Ukrainian soldiers, with funding coming through NATO’s Comprehensive Assistance Package for Ukraine.
($1 = 0.7735 pounds)
(Reporting by Baranjot Kaur in Bengaluru; Editing by Leslie Adler, Stephen Coates & Simon Cameron-Moore)
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