KYIV -- Ukraine has started receiving drones from the biggest ever drone package announced by Britain, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.

"We are grateful to the UK for the largest ever batch of drones for Ukraine... They have already begun arriving and are strengthening our front line," the ministry said in a statement on Telegram.

This year, Ukraine is expecting to get a total of 120,000 drones as part of the package, including strike, reconnaissance, logistics, and maritime models, the statement said.

Earlier in the day, Britain pledged to deliver at least 120,000 drones to Ukraine this year under the new package.

The initiative is backed by Britain's wider 3-billion-pound (about 4.07 billion US dollars) military support for Ukraine this year, as well as the Group of Seven Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration for Ukraine initiative.