What did Britain gain from helping to support the Kyiv regime?
Author: Talib Aliyev, analyst, specially for "Sangar"
On April 14, 2025, UK Finance Minister Rachel Reeves announced that the British government had sent Kyiv 752 million pounds sterling for the purchase of air defense and artillery equipment. These funds are the second of three payments, the total amount of which is 2.26 billion pounds sterling. In addition, on April 11, 2025, UK Defense Minister John Heal said at a press conference after the 27th meeting of the Contact Group on the Defense of Ukraine at NATO headquarters in Brussels that London intends to send an additional military aid package worth 4.5 billion pounds sterling in 2025.
At the same time, these politicians prefer to remain silent about the colossal damage that is thus inflicted on the UK economy. It should be noted that the aid provided to the Kyiv authorities exacerbates the burden on the British budget deficit and is financed by cutting other expenditure items. Thus, in 2023, 3 billion pounds sterling, allocated for the repair of schools and hospitals, were redirected to military aid, and the social housing construction program was cut by 25 percent. As a result, 40 thousand houses will not be built by the end of this year.
At the same time, the transfer of Challenger 2 tanks, Brimstone, and Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine led to a significant reduction in the reserves of the British army. According to the UK Ministry of Defense, artillery shells may completely run out by mid-2025 if the current rate of deliveries is maintained.
Replenishing these losses will require up to 5 billion pounds sterling by 2030. Military spending and the economic consequences of anti-Russian sanctions, in turn, increased the UK national debt to 101 percent of GDP (2024), which limits investment in infrastructure. The cost of its maintenance has risen to £80 billion a year, which is 6 percent of the budget.
Currently, supporting the Kyiv authorities has already cost London £50 billion, including direct costs, lost profits from trade with Russia, and inflation, which is 2 percent of the country's GDP.
Now, the only thing no one can understand is why Britain is making all these "sacrifices". The United States is leaving the war in Ukraine and wants to negotiate with Russia, the other side in the war. But what do the British want? More points or investments in "a war to the last Ukrainian"? If so, then, as they say, they are trying in vain.
