Scottish ministers pledge £65m to Ukraine war effort

The UK has already sent hundreds of anti-tank weapons to Ukraine

The Scottish government has pledged £65m to the war effort in Ukraine.

The contribution will make up part of the £1bn funding the UK government is providing to the Ukrainian military.

It will be used to help provide state-of-the-art equipment including air defence systems and vital kit for soldiers.

Finance Secretary Kate Forbes said the money would help in the fight against Russian aggression.

• What weapons are being given to Ukraine by the UK?

The Scottish government has previously sent £4m in financial aid to Ukraine for humanitarian assistance and a further £3m for medical supplies.

However, with foreign affairs reserved to Westminster, it is highly unusual for Scotland to contribute to UK government spending in this way, and ministers were keen to stress the exceptional circumstances.

Ms Forbes said "Scotland stands for democracy, human rights and the rule of law at home and abroad.

"We have become a place of refuge and sanctuary for displaced people from Ukraine, and have done all we can to get help those fleeing the country to escape the violence.

"This further funding is to assist Ukrainian armed forces to fight Russian aggression and the unspeakable brutality being perpetrated.

"We have agreed to providing funding on this occasion given the clear need to maximise the international effort to support Ukraine.

"However, we are clear that this must not be seen as any kind of precedent which leads to devolved budgets being used to help pay for clearly reserved policy areas."

The Welsh government has also agreed for £30m from its budget to go to support Ukraine.

But ministers in Cardiff said it was "not right" that money should come from the budget for Welsh public services.

One minister said they had agreed to the spending, but had been told by the Treasury that their budget would be cut and there was "no consultation".

A UK government spokesman said: "We are pleased that the Scottish government has worked with us and recognise this was a one-off, extraordinary, response to an illegal invasion reflecting the vital importance of continued support for the Ukrainian government."

The Welsh government says it's "not right" that money from its budget should be spent in a reserved policy area, adding this has been done by the UK Treasury without consultation.

Ordinarily you might expect a similarly strident response from the Scottish government, who were also presented with the option of offering up a contribution or seeing their budget cut further down the line.

But this cash is destined for Ukraine, and it seems that's prevented a full-blown row.

Ministers here may be privately unhappy with the way this funding has been pulled together, with contributions being skimmed off the budgets of the devolved administrations and other UK ministerial departments.

But their support for Ukrainian defence efforts means - publicly at least - they're holding back.

They've made clear this must not be seen as setting a precedent for future funding decisions.

And if the Treasury were to try to do this again, you can bet there would be a very different response.

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