London, March 3 -- British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Sunday that Britain will allow Ukraine to use 1.6 billion pounds (2 billion U.S. dollars) of British export finance to purchase more than 5,000 air defence missiles.
"This will be vital for protecting critical infrastructure and strengthening Ukraine," Starmer told a press conference following a summit with Western leaders in London.
The goal is "to put Ukraine in the strongest position" so the country can negotiate from a position of strength, he added.
Western leaders, including more than a dozen European heads of state and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, gathered in London on Sunday for a defence summit aimed at advancing a peace plan for Ukraine.
Starmer...