UK has sent just two weeks’ worth of artillery munitions to Ukraine

UKRAINE has received two weeks’ worth of artillery ammunition from the UK since the start of Russia’s invasion.

It came as a senior Ukrainian government figure said Kyiv needs “weapons, weapons, weapons” from its international allies and criticised the slow pace of Western deliveries.

The low figure has been calculated by Labour, based on the Ministry of Defence saying it had sent “almost 100,000 rounds of artillery ammunition” to Ukraine.

That would last 14 days, according to Nato estimates that Ukrainian forces are firing up to 7,000 artillery rounds a day. The figures do not take into account deliveries of other forms of ammunition and weapons. “This ridiculous claim is misleading and fails to acknowledge the millions of rounds of small arms ammunition we have supplied alongside thousands of vital artillery systems and missiles,” an MoD source said. “All which have played a decisive role in Ukraine’s ongoing military success.”

The provision of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine has prompted concerns about the UK’s ability to restock its Army, and to provide assistance to help counter Vladimir Putin’s invasion.

John Healey, shadow defence secretary, blamed the Tories’ “broken military procurement system” for what it deemed as risking “the delivery of the equipment our Armed Forces need to fight, fulfil our Nato obligations and support Ukraine”.

Boris Johnson, the former prime minister, has also said Ukraine must be given better weaponry to end the war as quickly as possible.

Equipment should include drones, anti-aircraft missiles, planes, armoured cars and tanks, and long-range systems such as ATACMS, he wrote in the Wall Street Journal.

“The Ukrainians have the valour necessary to succeed. They have shown it. They just need the equipment,” Mr Johnson wrote.