UK to supply 10,000 more drones to Ukraine, Grant Shapps announces
The UK will supply 10,000 more drones to Ukraine, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has announced during his third visit to the war-torn country.
The move is a further £125m worth of investment on top of the £200m drone package announced by the prime minister in January.
The latest supply is made up mainly of first-person view (FPV) drones, as well as 1,000 one-way attack drones and surveillance and maritime drones.
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The Ministry of Defence (MOD) said the drones have proven highly effective on the battlefield since Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine two years ago, helping to target enemy positions, armoured vehicles and Russia’s navy.
Mr Shapps said: “I am ramping up our commitment to arm Ukraine with cutting-edge new drones coming directly from the UK’s world-leading defence industries – straight from the factory floor to the frontline.
“Ukraine’s Armed Forces are using UK donated weapons to unprecedented effect, to help lay waste to nearly 30% of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.”
He added: “On my third visit to this great country, I was pleased to be able to offer my firm reassurance to President Zelenskyy on the UK’s unwavering commitment to the brave people and military forces of Ukraine.”
Mr Shapps said he encouraged “international partners to join the UK in this effort”.
Grant Shapps meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in September. Pic: PA
Speaking later to broadcasters, he was asked about French President Emmanuel Macron urging Europe not to be “cowards” and not ruling out sending troops to Ukraine.
Mr Shapps said what Ukraine needs most is ammunition not “boots on the ground”, adding: “That’s not in the picture.”
“For now, what they need is the equipment. What they need is for more countries to step up, as the United Kingdom has done from the outset.”
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Macron warns allies ‘not to be cowardly’
The defence secretary also revealed that the German Defence Minister, Boris Pistorius, called him “the next day and explained the situation” after a call between the country’s top army officials was leaked by Russian sources.
Germany’s ambassador to the UK has said there is “no need” to apologise after the recording revealed the head of the air force discussing secret details about alleged British troops in Ukraine.
UK military sources and other NATO allies have expressed serious concerns over the security breach which German chancellor Olaf Scholz described as “very serious”.
Asked if he had received an apology over the leak, Mr Shapps said: “I certainly don’t want to get into private conversations, but suffice to say, my opposite number, the German defence minister, called me the next day and explained the situation.”
Asked if Mr Pistorius had apologised, he repeated that he is “not going to go into private conversations” but added: “I can tell you that he was immediately in contact with me and other allies.
“The absolute key point here is that the world is working together.”
United States President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that most Americans will receive a $2,000 “dividend” from the tariff revenue and criticized the opposition to his sweeping tariff policies.
“A dividend of at least $2000 a person, not including high-income people, will be paid to everyone,” Trump said on Truth Social.
The US Supreme Court is currently hearing arguments about the legality of the tariffs, with the overwhelming majority of prediction market traders betting against a court approval.
Kalshi traders place the odds of the Supreme Court approving the policy at just 23%, while Polymarket traders have the odds at 21%. Trump asked:
“The president of the United States is allowed, and fully approved by Congress, to stop all trade with a foreign country, which is far more onerous than a tariff, and license a foreign country, but is not allowed to put a simple tariff on a foreign country, even for purposes of national security?”
Investors and market analysts celebrated the announcement as economic stimulus that will boost cryptocurrency and other asset prices as portions of the stimulus flow into the markets, but also warned of the long-term negative effects of the proposed dividend.
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The proposed economic stimulus will boost asset markets, but at a steep cost
Investment analysts at The Kobeissi Letter forecast that about 85% of US adults should receive the $2,000 stimulus checks, based on distribution data from the economic stimulus checks during the COVID era.
While a portion of the stimulus will flow into markets and raise asset prices, Kobeissi Letter warned that the ultimate long-term effect of any economic stimulus will be fiat currency inflation and the loss of purchasing power.
“If you don’t put the $2,000 in assets, it is going to be inflated away or just service some interest on debt and sent to banks,” Bitcoin analyst, author, and advocate Simon Dixon said.
“Stocks and Bitcoin only know to go higher in response to stimulus,” investor and market analyst Anthony Pompliano said in response to Trump’s announcement.
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Italian banks have expressed their support for the European Central Bank’s (ECB) digital euro initiative, but are calling for the implementation costs to be spread out over several years due to the financial burden it places on the sector.
“We’re in favour of the digital euro because it embodies a concept of digital sovereignty,” said Marco Elio Rottigni, General Manager of the Italian Banking Association (ABI), during a press seminar in Florence, Reuters reported on Friday.
“Costs for the project, however, are very high in the context of the capital expenditure banks must sustain. They could be spread over time,” Rottigni added.
The comments come as the central bank digital currency (CBDC) project has met resistance from some French and German banks, who fear the introduction of an ECB-backed retail wallet could drain deposits from commercial lenders.
Related: Digital euro CBDC is ‘symbol of trust in our common destiny’ — ECB head
ECB sets 2029 target for digital euro launch
At its October 29–30 meeting in Florence, the ECB’s Governing Council approved moving the project into its next phase after a two-year preparatory period. A pilot phase is expected to begin in 2027, with a full rollout tentatively scheduled for 2029, pending the adoption of EU legislation in 2026.
European Parliament member Fernando Navarrete, who is leading the parliament’s review of the proposal, recently presented a draft report calling for a scaled-down version of the digital euro to protect private payment systems such as Wero, a joint initiative by 14 European banks, per the report.
Rottigni said Europe should pursue a “twin approach,” combining the ECB’s digital euro with commercial bank-backed digital currencies. “What Europe shouldn’t do is fall behind,” he added.
Related: Malaysia’s central bank sets three-year roadmap to pilot asset tokenization
ECB signs deals with tech firms for digital euro development
Last month, the ECB finalized framework agreements with seven technology providers to support the development of a potential digital euro. The agreements cover fraud and risk management, secure payment data exchange, and software development.
Among the firms involved are fraud-detection specialist Feedzai and security technology company Giesecke+Devrient (G+D).
According to the ECB, the selected firms will also develop features such as “alias lookup,” enabling users to send or receive payments without knowing the recipient’s payment service provider and offline payment capabilities.
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