Today in Kiev British Foreign Secretary David Cameron has pledged three billion pounds ($3.74 billion) worth of annual military aid to Ukraine "for as long as it takes" and added that London has no objections to the weapons being used for strikes on Russian territory, reported Reuters and BTA.
"We will give three billion pounds every year for as long as it takes. We just finished everything we could give in terms of equipment,'' he said in an interview during a visit to Kyiv, adding that this represented the largest aid package from Britain to date.
"Some of that (equipment) is actually arriving in Ukraine today while I'm here," Cameron said.
The British foreign secretary said that Ukraine has the right to use weapons provided by London to strike targets in Russia and that the decision to do so rests with Kiev. "Ukraine has this right. "Just as Russia is striking Ukraine, you can easily see why Ukraine feels the need to defend itself," Cameron told a Reuters reporter outside St Michael's Cathedral.
The British foreign secretary, who was prime minister of Britain from 2010 to 2016 and returned to politics just a few months ago, met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and President Volodymyr Zelensky. This is his second visit to Kyiv since taking office.
Britain's first diplomat also mentioned the 60 billion dollar aid package passed in the US Congress after a long delay. "It is extremely important, not only in terms of the weapons that will be delivered, but also in terms of strengthening the fighting spirit of the people here in Ukraine," he said.
Cameron, however, did not directly respond to a question about how, in his opinion, the possible re-election of Republican Donald Trump would affect American support for Ukraine, Reuters notes. Trump and hardline Republicans oppose additional aid to Ukraine, except possibly in the form of a loan.
"It is not up to us to decide who the Americans will elect as their president – we will work with whoever that is,'' Cameron said, adding that the strategy for Ukraine's allies should be to ensure Ukraine is in a good position ahead of the US elections in November.