The government of the United Kingdom has announced an extension of the "contingent liability" associated with defense support provided to Ukraine, as stated in a written statement by Luke Pollard, Under-Secretary of State in the Ministry of Defense, UK Defense Journal reports.
This mechanism was established to compensate UK defense industry companies for any legal or financial claims that may arise due to potential malfunctions in the weapons systems supplied to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
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As noted, the contingent liability was launched by the UK government in July 2024, during the period when the previous parliament was dissolved due to elections. Luke Pollard's statement aims to assure that it will remain in force. As per procedure, within the next 14 days, members of the British Parliament will be able to comment on this decision and raise objections.
How the said liability mechanism is used in practice is only described in general features: for example, the compensation from the UK government covers "any legal or associated costs arising from third-party claims related to property damage, injury, or loss of life."
It is emphasized that although the risk of such incidents when dealing with defense products supplied to Ukraine is "assessed as low" by defense legal advisers, nonetheless "the liability will remain unquantifiable for the service life of the systems provided."
On a note from Defense Express, in essence, the British government has undertaken to cover any unforeseen costs that may arise during the supply of equipment and weapons to Ukraine, and no budget limits have been set for this article of funding. This alleviates some pressure on UK manufacturers whose products go to Ukrainian frontlines, and effectively increases the amount of supplies London can offer.
On the flip side, though, it also means that each of the military aid allocations will include those unforeseen costs alongside new provisions to deal with any problems that may arise when Ukrainians are using the equipment on the site.
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