already by rishi sunak on this trip, ahead of this trip, really, to poland, to meet donald tusk and jens stoltenberg, is a large increase in funding, another £500 million going to ukraine from the uk, and that is on top of existing commitments of money that has been allocated for this financial year by the uk government of 2.5 billion, so quite an increase, the largest ever provision of equipment as well that is also going to ukraine. they are talking about money for drones and missiles and about vehicles and rounds of ammunition, which they say amounts to the largest ever provision that the uk has sent, in the uk has been a key ally of ukraine since the invasion and has been very keen to be leading the way or certainly have a very large role in this globally in terms of

supporting ukraine. it is clear that it intends to do that. this is the latest round of funding and support that the uk is providing ukraine. we can now cross over and listen to what the nato secondaryjournal and rishi sunak have got to say. fine what the nato secondary journal and rishi sunak have got to say.- rishi sunak have got to say. one of m duties rishi sunak have got to say. one of my duties as _ rishi sunak have got to say. one of my duties as prime _ rishi sunak have got to say. one of my duties as prime minister- rishi sunak have got to say. one of my duties as prime minister is - rishi sunak have got to say. one of my duties as prime minister is to i my duties as prime minister is to the british people and fulfilling that responsibility is only possible because of you and ten days ago i gave the order for the raf to join an international effort intercepting an international effort intercepting a barrage of iranian missiles heading towards israel, and those pilots, like every generation of british servicemen and women before you, were willing to put their own safety over the line for the security of others and the defence of our liberties and our values. from your regiment�*s service in iraq and afghanistan, your current role in opponent, you have made those sacrifices in the service of our

country and i'm truly humbled by your courage and professionalism and on behalf of a proud and grateful nation, let me simply say, thank you. but i have notjust brought you here together today to express my gratitude. i want to talk to you about how we equip you to do your duty in an increasingly dangerous world. we have entered a period of history in which competition between countries has sharpened profoundly. authoritarian states with different values to hours like russia, iran and north korea and china, they are increasingly assertive, and the danger they pose is not new but what is new is that these countries, or their proxies, are causing more instability more quickly in more places at once. they are increasingly acting together making common cause in an attempt to reshape the world order and i know there are some people who will think these are far—away problems but they aren't. they pose real risks to the

uk and to our security and prosperity and russia has already poisoned people on british soil with chemical weapons, caused energy bills to soar, weaponised migration, and sent technology to iran in exchange for weapons like the drones that i saw myself are wreaking such devastation in ukraine. iran themselves are threatening to kill and kidnap people within our borders were exercising their right to free speech. and use proxies like the houthis. north korea supplying military hardware to russia. and chinese state affiliated actors have conducted malicious cyber campaigns against british mps. china itself is engaged in huge military modernisation programme, potential flash points in the indo—pacific

could have an impact on the global economy far larger even than covid, and china is increasingly working with others to reshape the world including their so—called unlimited partnership with russia. so the new assertiveness of these authoritarian states far from our shores must concern us because they are increasingly acting together. against the fundamental values that we all hold dear, of democracy, freedom and the rule of law. we must not overstate the danger, and we are not overstate the danger, and we are not on the brink of war and neither do we seek it and people should feel reassured that the armed forces of the uk are some of the most professional and well—trained and well—equipped and bad already in the world. i'm incredibly proud of all they have achieved —— battle ready. to the campaign in the deserts of syria and iraq, to the red sea and

the skies above eastern europe, and just look at the investments we have made in the last decade, £40 billion in the british army who proudly provide one of the strategic reserves for nato with 16,000 troops deployed to europe this year. the royal air force equipped with new typhoons and chinnocks with the programme delivering new fighter jets with japan and italy and the royal navy is a carrier neighbour once again with 22 new ships and submarines on the way —— carrier navy. including the most advanced nuclear powered subs the world has ever known and we have launched a new national endeavour to invigorate and invest more in our nuclear deterrent and all of this is combined with our outstanding diplomatic network, development expertise and law enforcement and intelligence agencies which can support our allies and above all the £12 billion we have provided to ukraine. i'm proud of our record on

defence and confident in our ability to deter our adversaries and make sure the security of the uk. but in a world that is the most dangerous it has been since the end of the cold war, we cannot and must not be complacent. as winston churchill said in 1934, to urge the preparation of defence is not to insert the imminence of war, on the contrary, if war was imminent, preparations for defence would be too late. i believe we must do more too late. i believe we must do more to defend our country and our interests and our values so today i'm announcing the biggest strengthening of our national defence for a generation. we would increase defence spending to a new baseline of 2.5% of gdp by 2030, and that starts today. and it rises steadily in each and every year. over the next six years we will

invest an additional £75 billion in our defence. it will be fully funded with no increase in borrowing or debt so this is not some fake aspiration for the future, we have a clear plan for what we will spend —— vague aspiration. a plan that makes the uk by far the largest offence power in europe in the second largest in nato and today is a landmark moment in the defence of the uk, this is a generational investment in british security and british prosperity. it makes us safer at home and stronger abroad and we will have three immediate priorities for this new investment. we will put the uk's and defence industry on a wall footing and one of the essential lessons of the war in ukraine is that we need deeper stockpiles of munitions and for industry to replenish the more quickly so we are giving £10 billion

in munition support to give industry long—term funding certainty backed by long—term contracts so they can produce more and be ready at a surge capacity and to move to always on production when required. from surface to air missiles made in bolton to anti—tank weapons in belfast, we will replenish our stockpiles while supporting british jobs across the uk. but it is not just about investing more, we must invest better, and for too long, too much of our defence procurement has been over complex and overbudget and over time. been over complex and overbudget and overtime. so been over complex and overbudget and over time. so we are making radical reforms to our procurement model to make sure this new investment delivers value for money. to encourage private sector investment into defence production, i can also announce that we are going to put beyond doubt the defence investment does count towards environmental, social and governance assessments, and there is nothing more ethical than defending our way of life from those who threaten it. all of this

will put us at the forefront of the global defence industry, allow us to hugely ramp up defence production and give our armed forces the capability they need to keep us safe, but as in so many other areas of our lives, technology is changing. it is changing the face of war so our second priority is innovation and new technology. we need to innovate and adapt faster than our in space cyberspace, just as much as in land and sea and air, sojust look at ukraine, as much as in land and sea and air, so just look at ukraine, many aspects of the war would be familiar to a soldier from the first world war but others would be unimaginably different. like the fact that the cheap high—tech autonomous drones could disable large parts of the russian black sea fleet and the good news is that innovation is already one of our greatest strengths and the uk's own dragon laser costs only £10 per shot but it is accurate enough to hit a £1 coin from a

kilometre away. and today we are going further, we would increase our defence r&d to a minimum of 5% of the defence budget and invest more in autonomous drones and set up a new defence innovation agency so that for the first time decisions about defence innovation will be brought together in a single strategic agency that will be freed from red tape and work with the private sector on emerging new technologies. third, we must support ukraine for the long term. since the cold war ended the freedom of our continent has been based on a simple idea, that it is for people to decide the fate of their countries, not foreign armies, and if we allow vladimir putin to win in ukraine, the principle of sovereignty would be undermined. we would be dragged back to a world where brute force rather than the democratic will of free people would shape the borders and decide futures. and vladimir putin would not stop in ukraine,

because win there, he and others will be involved in, so he has the desire is not yet the capacity to attack other countries in europe, potentially including nato allies who we would be bound to defend just as they are bound to defend us. the costs of failing to support ukraine now will be far greater than the costs of repelling vladimir putin. because only if he fails will he and other adversaries be deterred. and thatis other adversaries be deterred. and that is why the uk with a history of standing up to dictators commit so much part of our national consciousness, and has come together with our allies to stand with ukraine from the very start. today we go further, and we will send ukraine an additional half £1 billion, providing them with the largest ever package of uk military equipment which will provide more than 4 million vehicles are more than 4 million vehicles are more than 4 million rounds of ammunition

and 60 boats, vital air defences and long range precision missiles and as we make our commitment to increase defence spending, we will move past the stop start piecemeal way of backing ukraine so that alongside our long—term security guarantee, we are today providing a long—term funding guarantee. at least the current level of military support ukraine for every year it is needed. that is the longest commitment any nation has provided. and it shows that ukraine is not alone and ukraine will never be alone. a decade ago as russian tanks rolled into crimea, and the fight against isil rage against the middle east, nato allies came together in wales and reached a historic agreement, to increase their defence budgets to 2% of gdp, and back then the uk was one of gdp, and back then the uk was one of only four countries that did so

but today there are 11 and i believe we will look back on this moment as a similarturning we will look back on this moment as a similar turning point in european security. because for all that we welcome the news over the weekend that the us congress agreed a new package of aid for ukraine, support that will be indispensable on the front line, this is not the moment for complacency. we cannot keep expecting america to pay any price or bear any burden, if we ourselves are unwilling to make greater sacrifices for our own security. so i'm proud that the uk is increasing our defence spending to £87 billion per year. the biggest strengthening of our national defence in a generation. guaranteeing our position as the second largest defence power in nato after the us. all across europe countries like poland, germany, norway, and the baltic nations, are stepping up to

take greater responsibility for our own security. and i'm confident that whether in months or years, others will follow, and at this turning point in european security, if 2.5% becomes a new benchmark, for all nato partners to reach, allied defence spending would increase by over hundred and £40 billion. that would provide a level of safety and security for the british people and the people of all allied nations that far outstrips anything we could achieve alone. to conclude, we did not choose this moment but it falls to us to meet it. any world of increasing threats we must show our enemies we are resolute and that their attempts to destabilise our world or redraw its borders by force will fail, that with our friends and allies, we will be at the forefront of the defence of the free democratic world, and under my leadership the united

kingdom will always stand up for our interests, deter our enemies and defend our values. it is my enormous pleasure to introducejens stoltenberg, the need to secretary general. —— nato secretary general. it is great to be here in holland together— it is great to be here in holland together with you today. the united kingdom _ together with you today. the united kingdom is highly valued and staunch and essential nato ally, contributing greatly to our shared security— contributing greatly to our shared security in — contributing greatly to our shared security in so many different ways. you lead _ security in so many different ways. you lead nato forces in estonia, over_ you lead nato forces in estonia, over our— you lead nato forces in estonia, over our eastern flank, the royal navy— over our eastern flank, the royal navy helps keep critical sea lanes open _ navy helps keep critical sea lanes open the — navy helps keep critical sea lanes open. the united kingdom is also at the centre _ open. the united kingdom is also at the centre of the exercise steadfast defender, _ the centre of the exercise steadfast defender, currently under way and involving _ defender, currently under way and involving more than 16,000 british mititary— involving more than 16,000 british military personnel.