April 16, 2026
The UK’s biggest drone delivery of 2026 — 120,000+ drones — is heading to Ukraine. UK Defense Secretary Healey announced the package in Berlin and laid out why it matters.
Russia’s March casualties topped 35,000 — its worst month of the war. Drones caused 96% of them. For four months straight, Russia has lost more troops than it recruited, Healey noted.
Putin claims unstoppable momentum. Claims Ukrainians have no choice but to concede. Claims Western support is fading.
“The truth is our support continues steadfast,” Healey said.
96% of Russia’s record March casualties were caused by drones — so the UK is sending its biggest package of the year
120,000+ drones, hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds, and thousands of air defense missiles: UK Defense Secretary John Healey announced the package at a 43-nation Ukraine arms coordination meeting in Berlin.
15/04/2026
UK Defense Secretary John Healey speaks at the press conference following the 34th Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting in Berlin, 15 April 2026. Screenshot: YouTube/NATO News
Russia suffered over 35,000 casualties in March — the deadliest single month since the full-scale invasion began — with drones responsible for 96% of those losses, UK Defense Secretary John Healey said at the 34th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG), an international forum coordinating military aid for Ukraine, in Berlin on 15 April. Healey announced the UK’s largest drone delivery to Ukraine this year, alongside hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds and thousands of air defense missiles.
Amid the ongoing Russian full-scale invasion, drones have transformed Ukraine’s ability to inflict losses on Russian forces far beyond what conventional weapons alone could achieve — turning an attritional ground war into one where a low-cost weapon consistently outperforms expensive armor and artillery at scale.
Drones are deciding the war
Healey told the 43 nations gathered in Berlin that March casualty figures prove the drones prove to be decisive in the ongoing war.
“Drones have defined this war,” he said. “They will be decisive to its outcome.”
Healey noted that for four straight months, Russia has lost more troops than it has recruited. Putin claims his forces have unstoppable battlefield momentum. Putin claims Ukrainians have no choice but to concede. Putin claims those who stand with Ukraine have grown weary.
“The truth is our support continues steadfast,” Healey said.
UK’s biggest drone package of the year
The UK will deliver over 120,000 drones to Ukraine — the largest British drone package of 2026. The package also includes hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds and thousands of air defense missiles. Together, Healey said, they will help Ukraine defend its territory and strike back against Russian aggression.
UK defense spending hits Cold War-era levels
Healey defended the UK’s defense budget increase against domestic political criticism. The Labour government will reach 2.6% of GDP on defense next year — the highest level since 2010. It funds the increase by directly shifting funds from the overseas aid budget to defense spending.
“We are doing that by the biggest amount since the end of the Cold War,” Healey said.
Germany and other partners
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who co-chaired the meeting, warned that rising Middle East oil prices are replenishing Putin’s war budget. Germany’s package for Ukraine includes hundreds of Patriot guided missiles to be delivered over four years, additional air defense launchers, and jointly produced deep-strike drones manufactured in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov reported new contributions to the PURL procurement mechanism — the framework that channels allied funds into purchasing US-made weapons for Ukraine — from Belgium, Norway, Bulgaria, and Estonia, with Norway separately pledging $500 million to equip Ukrainian brigades with drones.
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Zelenskyy meets Merz in Berlin: new aid packages, Taurus ruled out again
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Berlin on 14 April for an official visit and bilateral consultations with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The meeting began at 11:45 Kyiv time. By afternoon, the two sides had signed defense cooperation agreements, held a joint press conference, and opened a plenary session of intergovernmental consultations.
At the press conference, Merz declared Germany Ukraine’s “most important partner in 2026” and confirmed new agreements on aid packages covering air defense, long-range weapons, drones, and ammunition.
Taurus cruise missiles, however, remain off the table. Merz said he no longer sees the need to supply the long-range systems, citing Ukraine’s technological progress on the battlefield. That argument drew public criticism from the Greens ahead of the visit: party co-chair Franziska Brantner had called for strengthened air defense support and Taurus transfers in January 2026, as Russian strikes intensified.
The Taurus question sits against a May 2025 milestone — when the defense ministers of Germany and Ukraine signed an agreement in Berlin to finance Ukrainian-produced long-range weapons. Berlin’s stated logic is that Ukraine no longer needs German systems because it is developing capable equivalents of its own. The Greens, and others, remain unconvinced
https://euromaidanpress.com/2026/04/14/401439/
Britain and the other European democracies have got to end the welfare Ponzi schemes and became hard-nosed military powers.
Under Margaret Thatcher, we spent 4.5% of GDP on defence. We now need to get to that urgently and then increase again.
In the 1950’s it was more than 10%.
Fucking putler is forcing us to go back to the 50’s.
Or if not, be dependent on a deranged maniac like Krasnov.
The Europeans are very lazy and slow learners. They should’ve waken up in 2014 already. It took a massive new war AND a Trump to START making them aware in what dangerous position they find themselves in. But only the ones who are farsighted are aware of this, the rest are still snoozing!
Let’s hope that a massive inflow of drones will come soon into Ukraine. Ten drones per cockroach would be fine.