This morning’s defence news includes reports on the defence budget and Russia’s conflict with Ukraine.
Defence budget
The Telegraph follows up reporting yesterday about alleged pressures on the Defence budget because of the value of the pound against the dollar.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said:
The government has made two defence spending commitments: to increase the budget in real terms in each year of this decade and to meet the NATO 2 % commitment. Obviously, the first commitment means defence spending will increase, irrespective of what happens to GDP.
Russia
The Times carries an article about a think tank-sponsored visit by Ukrainian personnel to the UK recently. The piece goes on to reference Julian Lewis MP’s calls for an increase in the defence spending budget to 3%.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said:
UK personnel have provided valuable training support to Ukraine’s Armed Forces through a range of programmes, and a small delegation from Ukraine was hosted recently as part of a think tank-sponsored visit.
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