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The UK is set to give Multiple-Launch Rocket Systems to Ukraine to help it defend itself against Russian aggression, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has announced.
The M270 weapon system, which can strike targets up to 80 kilometres away with pinpoint accuracy, will offer the Ukrainian forces a significant boost.
The UK’s decision has been co-ordinated closely with the US decision to provide the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (Himars) variant of the MLRS.
The UK will also supply large amounts of M31A1 munitions.
The decision by Mr Wallace comes in response to requests from Ukrainian forces for longer-range precision weapons to defend themselves from Russian heavy artillery, which has been used to devastating effect in the eastern Donbas region.
“The UK stands with Ukraine in this fight and is taking a leading role in supplying its heroic troops with the vital weapons they need to defend their country from unprovoked invasion," Mr Wallace said.
"If the international community continues its support, I believe Ukraine can win. As Russia's tactics change, so must our support to Ukraine.
"These highly capable multiple-launch rocket systems will enable our Ukrainian friends to better protect themselves against the brutal use of long-range artillery, which Putin's forces have used indiscriminately to flatten cities.”
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British citizens Aiden Aslin, left, and Shaun Pinner, right, and Moroccan Saaudun Brahim, centre, sit behind bars in a courtroom in the breakaway eastern Ukrainian enclave of Donetsk. The three were sentenced to death by pro-Moscow rebels for fighting on Ukraine's side. AP -
A Ukrainian soldier fires a machine gun near the town of New York in the breakaway Donetsk enclave. Reuters -
The gutted remains of cars lie along a road during heavy fighting in Severodonetsk. AP -
Ukrainian soldiers ride an armoured vehicle near the city of Bakhmut, in the breakaway Donetsk enclave. EPA -
Ukrainian soldiers and members of civilian demining organisations take part in a training exercise for bomb disposal experts in Peja, Kosovo. Getty -
Volunteers clear debris near a damaged shopping mall after night shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine. EPA -
A man walks past a college on fire after a strike in Lysychansk in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas. AFP -
Ukrainian service members near the town of Soledar. Reuters -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv. AFP -
Residents kneel during a funeral procession for senior lieutenant Vasyl Herych, 31, of the 15th Separate Mountain Assault Battalion, who was killed in Perechyn, Ukraine. Reuters -
People hide in a bomb shelter in the city of Lysychansk in the Donbas region. AFP -
Ivan Sosnin, 19, surveys the damage to his home in Lysychansk. AFP -
Ukrainian troops repair a tank in the Donbas region. AFP -
Ukrainian troops fire rockets towards Russian positions at a front line in the Donbas region. AFP -
Volunteers from a Danish NGO demonstrate how to search for explosive devices with help of a loop metal detector, outside the town of Ichnia in Ukraine. Reuters -
A firefighter takes a break after putting out a fire at a house in a district of Kharkiv that was bombed by Russian forces. Reuters -
Plumes of smoke rise from a house on fire after a military strike by Russian forces in Kharkiv. Reuters -
The damaged house of Inna Bobryntseva, a woman who died during Russian shelling, in Kharkiv. Ukrainian officials exhumed her body from her backyard as part of an investigation into war crimes. Reuters -
A man moves items from a damaged shop in Kharkiv after a Russian military strike the night before. Reuters -
Civilian militia men hold shotguns during training at a shooting range on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine. AFP -
A woman walks by a destroyed apartment building in the town of Borodyanka. AFP -
Rescuers dismantle collapsing structures of a heavily damaged 16-storey residential building in the Saltivka district of Kharkiv. AFP -
A Ukrainian bomb disposal worker carries unexploded ordnance during mine clearance work in the village of Yahidne, in the liberated territories of the Chernihiv region. AFP -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, centre, visits the military during a trip to the Zaporizhzhia region. AFP -
Ukrainian service members fire a shell from a M777 Howitzer in the Donetsk region as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues. Reuters -
Ukrainian servicemen manoeuvre a tank near the frontline in the Donetsk region. AP Photo -
The remains of the Darnytsia Car Repair Plant damaged by missile strikes in Kyiv. EPA -
A couple embrace on Maidan square in Kyiv. AP Photo -
Smoke rises from a residential area in Kyiv. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said several explosions occurred following missile strikes in the Darnytskyi and Dniprovskyi districts of the capital with no casualties reported. EPA -
A woman holds a poster showing Russian President Vladimir Putin during a protest against the war in Ukraine at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. AP -
Smoke rises in the background after Russian missile strikes in Kyiv. AP -
A Ukrainian serviceman pauses before going back to the frontline in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. AP -
Firefighters dampen down a rail facility in the Darnytsia district of Kyiv after a Russian air strike. EPA -
An elderly woman sits in front of destroyed houses after a missile strike, which killed a civilian, in the city of Druzhkivka in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas. AFP -
A man examines an apartment destroyed during shelling in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine. Five civilians were killed and 20 were injured. EPA -
Residents examine cars destroyed during shelling in Donetsk. EPA -
Civilians are evacuated from apartments destroyed during shelling in Donetsk. EPA -
A man looks on as smoke rises after explosions were heard in Kyiv. Reuters -
Residents chat in front of a destroyed building in Borodianka, as Russia's attacks on Ukraine continue. Reuters -
A monument to Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko, damaged by shelling in Borodianka. Reuters -
Men scavenge a burnt Russian military vehicle for parts and scrap metal in Novyi Bykiv. Getty -
A crater and a destroyed building after a rocket attack on a small airfield near Kharkiv. EPA -
Ukrainian howitzers in action at an undisclosed location. AFP -
A girl rides a scooter past a destroyed building in the village of Horenka, Kyiv. AFP -
Pope Francis hugs a child during a meeting at the Vatican with children with disabilities and Ukrainian children who fled their country. Reuters -
Ukrainian emergency works at a damaged building following shelling in Kharkiv. AP -
Members of a medical rescue team gather inside their temporary base in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. AP -
A woman sits at a destroyed bus station in the city of Mariupol. AFP -
Residents are evacuated from Slovyansk, eastern Ukraine. AP
Ukrainian troops will be trained on how to use the launchers in the UK, so that they can maximise the effectiveness of the systems.
Britain previously announced that Ukrainian personnel would be trained to use armoured vehicles the UK donated, including Mastiffs, Huskys and Wolfhounds.
The UK was the first European country to supply lethal aid to Ukraine, and has since provided thousands of anti-tank missiles, anti-air systems and armoured vehicles to Ukrainian forces.
Britain has also taken a leading role in co-ordinating international donations of military aid.
Mr Wallace has hosted two international donor conferences to co-ordinate support from 35 partner nations, while RAF aircraft have moved thousands of tonnes of military assistance from donors around the world to Ukraine.
The UK has said it will continue to provide aid to ensure Ukraine has what it needs to defend itself against Russian aggression.
