Britain has announced it will supply Ukraine with an additional 650 short-range missiles to bolster its defences against Russia.
The United States is also increasing military aid, including new supplies of long-range missiles, anti-tank weapons and artillery shells.
What is the latest military aid to Ukraine?
The UK Ministry of Defence has announced that it will send lightweight multi-role missiles to Ukraine to counter missile and drone attacks, with the first deliveries expected by the end of 2024.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on Western countries to strengthen their air defense systems following a series of Russian attacks on cities including Poltava and Kharkiv.
The U.S. government stepped up arms supplies to Ukraine after Congress approved a $61 billion military aid package in April, after supplies had been depleted for months.
In the months before the United States resumed arms supplies, Ukrainian forces had lost much of their territory in the east of the country, mainly due to a lack of artillery shells to stop Russian advances.
Ukraine has also been fielding F-16 fighter jets it received from Western countries over the summer.
Who provided the most military aid?
What kind of weapons have Western countries provided Ukraine with?
NATO countries including Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway have pledged to provide Ukraine with more than 65 U.S.-made aircraft that were to be retired from their air forces.
In August 2023, the United States gave permission to send F-16s to Ukraine. Since then, Western countries have been training Ukrainian pilots to fly the F-16.
“Ukraine will likely use the F-16s primarily to defend against air attack,” said Phillips O’Brien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St Andrews.
The US-based Center for Strategic and International Studies said additional roles could eventually be given to the regime, such as attacking Russian air defence systems, command posts and supply bases, as well as engaging Russian aircraft in Ukrainian airspace.
Air Defense Systems
Western countries have deployed several types of air defense systems to Ukraine to counter Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.
These include the British short-range anti-aircraft weapon Starstreak to the Patriot missile system.
Patriot is expensive to operate, with each missile costing about $3 million.
The United States and Norway also provided the Nasamus (National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System) for air defense, while Germany provided the Iris-T.
Artillery and missiles
The fighting has focused on the country’s east since Russia withdrew from Kiev in March 2022, a month after the invasion. Since then, both sides have used artillery and missiles heavily.
According to the Kiel Institute, Western countries have sent Ukraine more than 620 artillery pieces, including the US-made M777 howitzers.
Also provided were 82 missile systems, including the Himars and M270 multiple launch rocket systems.
Ukraine has received long-range missiles such as Scalp from France and Storm Shadow from the UK.
The United States is also supplying Ukraine with the longest-range version of its ATACMS ballistic missiles, with a range of 190 miles (300 km). Prior to April 2024, it only supplied shorter-range versions.
The United States sent 31 M1 Abrams tanks, considered the most advanced tanks in the world.
But none of this new armor will enable Ukraine to make significant progress in 2023.
Anti-tank weapons
Western countries first responded to the Russian aggression in February 2022 by supplying Ukraine with defensive weapons to counter enemy armored brigades.
The United States and Britain supplied thousands of Javelin and Nlaw anti-tank missiles, which were considered essential to halt the Russian advance towards Kiev.
Drone
Drones have been widely used during wartime for surveillance, targeting, missile firing and as “kamikaze” weapons.
Turkey supplied its missile-capable Bayraktar TB2 drones at the start of the conflict, the United States provided its “Switchblade” kamikaze drones, and several countries sent commercial surveillance drones such as the Chinese-made DJI Mavic 3.