The UK has agreed to send anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine to help defend its skies against Russian attacks, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said.
Britain is donating the Amraam rockets for the first time and they will give Ukraine the ability to shoot down cruise missiles.
After the launch of deadly missile and drone attacks on the country’s cities and power plants this week by Moscow, it is hoped the new air-defence missiles will help to protect Ukrainian infrastructure.
Vladimir Putin and his forces were accused of war crimes by the UK and G7 allies, who vowed to “continue to provide financial, humanitarian, military, diplomatic and legal support and … stand firmly with Ukraine for as long as it takes”.
The shift in the Kremlin’s strategy to attacks on civilian areas and infrastructure came in retaliation for an explosion that damaged the strategically and symbolically important Kerch bridge, linking Russia to the annexed Crimean peninsula.
The UK and other western governments are shipping new weapons systems to Ukraine or gearing up to provide more help.
The Ukraine war latest - in pictures
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Smoke rises on the outskirts of the city during a Russian missile attack in Kyiv. Reuters -
Workers surround the Monument to the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred with sandbags against damage from shelling in Mykolaiv. EPA -
Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomes Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev for talks before a meeting between the Russian president and the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, Russia. AFP -
People take water from a water pump in Kyiv. EPA -
A woman walks past a damaged building in the town of Nova Kakhovka. Reuters -
A woman outside her home, which was destroyed during battles at the start of the conflict, in Yahidne, Chernihiv. Getty Images -
People shelter inside a subway station during a Russian missile attack in Kyiv. Reuters -
Firefighters at the site of a drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP -
A woman walks past the site of a Russian missile strike in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv. Reuters -
Rescuer workers at a building destroyed in an attack in Mykolaiv. Reuters -
Parts of a drone lie on a street in Kyiv. Reuters -
A drone flies over the Ukrainian capital during an attack. AFP -
Ukrainian servicemen tow a captured Russian armoured vehicle in Rudneve village, Kharkiv. EPA -
A partially destroyed residential building in Saltivka, in Kharkiv. AP -
Ukrainian servicemen fire a captured Russian howitzer on a front line near Kupyansk city, Kharkiv. EPA -
Ukrainian servicemen near the recently retaken town of Lyman in Donetsk region. AFP -
An officer from a Ukrainian national police emergency demining team prepares to detonate collected anti-tank mines and explosives near Lyman, in the Donetsk region. AFP -
A boy playing on a destroyed Russian tank on display in Kyiv. AFP -
A young couple hiding underground during an air alert in Zaporizhzhia. AFP -
Ukrainian firefighters looking for survivors after a strike in Zaporizhzhia. AFP -
Workers fix a banner reading 'Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson - Russia!' to the State Historical Museum near Red Square in Moscow. AFP -
Residents try to cross a destroyed bridge in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine. AFP -
Alyona Kishinskaya helps to clean up a shop as it prepares to reopen in Balakiya, Ukraine, after a six-month Russian occupation. Getty Images -
Alla, 12, has a swinging time in Balakiya, Ukraine, as life goes on despite the war. Getty Images -
Ukrainian flags in the town square in Balakiya. Getty Images -
A destroyed Russian command centre in Izium, Ukraine. Getty Images -
In what may be a final farewell, young Russian recruits - escorted by their wives - walk to a train station in Volgograd before being sent to war in Ukraine. AP -
Russian recruits board the train to Ukraine in Volgograd. AP -
Ukrainian soliders drive a tank at the recently retaken eastern side of the Oskil River in Kharkiv region, Ukraine. AFP -
Volunteers pass boxes of food aid on a destroyed bridge over the Oskil River. AFP -
Ukrainian soliders rest on an armoured personnel carrier. AFP -
A sign warns of landmines in Izyum, eastern Ukraine. AFP -
This crater was left after a missile strike in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. AFP
The Amraam rockets will be delivered in the coming weeks to be used with the Nasams air-defence systems pledged by the US, the UK Ministry of Defence said.
The latest package of UK equipment also includes hundreds of other air defence missiles and aerial drones, and another 18 field guns.
“Russia’s latest indiscriminate strikes on civilian areas in Ukraine warrant further support to those seeking to defend their nation," Mr Wallace said.
"So today I have authorised the supply of Amraam anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine,
“These weapons will help Ukraine defend its skies from attacks and strengthen their overall missile defence alongside the US Nasams.”
US and UN leaders condemn 'unacceptable' Russian strikes on Ukraine - video
Nato defence ministers discussed more support for Ukraine in Brussels on Wednesday, with further talks due on Thursday.
Britain will also give £10 million ($11m) to the military alliance’s funding package to help provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, including winter clothes, shelters, generators, fuel trucks and ambulances.
The UK has previously supplied Kyiv with various weapons, including the Nlaw anti-tank missile launcher, which was considered instrumental in the initial defence against Russia’s invasion.
