The UK government's response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine

The UK and our allies condemn the Russian government’s unprovoked and premeditated invasion of Ukraine. Putin has isolated Russia from the rest of the world. The UK stands with Ukraine, its democratically-elected government and its brave people at this awful time.

The UK government is providing a range of economic, humanitarian and defensive military assistance to Ukraine, and is imposing additional sanctions on Russia and Belarus.

We are:

  • providing both economic and humanitarian aid, including vital medical supplies. The UK’s non-military support to Ukraine since the start of invasion comes to £4.7 billion. This includes over £4.1 billion in fiscal support, and over £640 million in bilateral assistance. The UK’s total military, humanitarian and economic support for Ukraine now amounts to £9.3 billion.
  • providing military aid to Ukraine, continuing to work with international partners to supply vital weapons to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. So far we have delivered a wide range of equipment including main battle tanks, helicopters, minehunter ships, thousands of anti-tank weapons, anti-air missiles, multiple launch rocket systems, long range precision strike capability, armoured vehicles, drones, artillery, small arms and ammunition. We have also delivered non-lethal aid including helmets, body armour, rations and medical equipment. Since 2022, with support from our allies, we have trained over 45,000 Ukrainian soldiers. More specialised training has been provided to Ukrainian personnel including marines, combat fighter pilots, and chaplains. The UK is also leading two international capability coalitions, focused on drones and the maritime domain, to provide long-term military support to further bolster the capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The UK Ministry of Defence also administers the International Fund for Ukraine, which was launched by the UK and Denmark in 2022 to provide a mechanism to rapidly procure military equipment for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Since its launch, nine countries including the UK have pledged more than £1 billion to the fund, which has so far provided critical capabilities including drones, air defence systems, mine clearance equipment, combat vehicle spares, and electronic warfare systems.
  • changing the immigration system to support British nationals and their families who usually live in Ukraine, and Ukrainians in the UK and their families. We are also offering a sponsorship scheme, Homes for Ukraine, allowing individuals, charities, community groups and businesses in the UK to bring Ukrainians to safety – including those with no family ties to the UK.
  • delivering an unprecedented package of sanctions to cut off funding for Putin’s war machine. We have now sanctioned over 1,600 individuals, entities and subsidiaries since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, including 69 leading oligarchs. We have coordinated with our allies on sanctions aimed at starving the Russian government of funds to further its unprovoked war against Ukraine, including a joint decision by all G7 countries to remove Russian banks from the SWIFT system.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) advises against all travel to Ukraine. British nationals should leave Ukraine immediately if they judge it is safe to do so. The FCDO advises against travel to Russia, and British nationals should consider leaving if their presence is not essential. The FCDO also advises against travel to Belarus.