Starmer to give missiles to Ukraine paid for with £70m interest on Russian assets

The 350 air defence missiles mark the first time the UK has used Russia-linked funds to buy weapons for Kyiv

Keir Starmer has announced a fresh package of military aid for Ukraine – this time paid for using the UK’s interest haul from frozen Russian assets.

The UK will send 350 advanced air defence missiles, built in Britain and adapted in record time for ground launch, using £70m of interest raised through the government’s extraordinary revenue acceleration (ERA) scheme. The move marks the first time the UK has used Russia-linked funds to directly bankroll weaponry for Kyiv.

The missiles will be deployed through UK-supplied Raven systems – five more of which are en route to Ukraine, taking the total to 13. Originally designed as air-to-air missiles, ASRAAMs have been retrofitted by RAF engineers and MBDA UK to fire from the back of a British-made truck. The conversion took just three months.

Starmer, speaking before Nato’s annual summit in The Hague, said: “Russia, not Ukraine, should pay the price for Putin’s barbaric and illegal war. It is only right we use seized Russian assets to strengthen Ukraine’s air defences. The security of Ukraine is vital to our own.”