The United Kingdom announced on Saturday £245 million (287 million euros) to help Ukraine replenish its munitions two years after the start of the Russian invasion, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak assuring London’s support until ‘to victory.
“On this grim anniversary, we must renew our resolve,” Rishi Sunak said in a statement Friday evening. “This is the moment to show that tyranny will never triumph and to say once again that we will stand by Ukraine today and tomorrow,” added the head of the British government. “We are ready to do whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, until (Ukraine) wins,” he promised.
London, which is one of the main supporters of kyiv, recently announced increasing its military aid to Ukraine, which for the year 2024/2025 will amount to 2.5 billion pounds sterling (2.9 Billions of Euro’s).
In mid-January, the British Prime Minister announced during a trip to Kiev the signing of a ten-year security agreement between the United Kingdom and Ukraine, hailed as “unprecedented” by the President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Just on Thursday, the United Kingdom announced new sanctions against Russia and new deliveries of missiles to the Ukrainians. The military aid announced on Saturday aims to “invigorate supply chains to produce the artillery ammunition that Ukraine urgently needs to increase its reserves,” the British Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
“Cities and villages decimated”
The Ukrainian military “repulsed the Russian invader to reclaim half of the territory that Putin stole, while causing significant damage to Russian capabilities, with around 30% of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea destroyed or damaged, and thousands of tanks and armored vehicles reduced to wreckage,” declared British Defense Minister Grant Shapps.
Weakened by the blocking of American aid, the failure of its summer counter-offensive and a growing lack of men and ammunition, the Ukrainian army faces an “extremely difficult” situation, according to the Ukrainian army’s own admission. President Volodymyr Zelensky who had to resolve a week ago to cede the fortress town of Avdiïvka in the East.
In addition to the thousands of drones already promised, Grant Shapps reported Thursday to Parliament the upcoming delivery of 200 additional Brimstone anti-tank missiles to the Ukrainian army, ensuring that this type of weapon had had “a significant impact on the field of battle “.
In addition, the Foreign Office announced £6 million in aid to the Red Cross and £2.5 million to the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund. “Ukrainians are courageously defending their territory against the brutal Russian invasion, but the past two years have had a tragic impact for millions of people across Ukraine,” British Foreign Minister David Cameron said in a statement. “Families have been separated, towns and villages decimated, and essential civilian infrastructure destroyed. The UK stands with Ukraine and is committed to supporting the most vulnerable Ukrainians who are experiencing the horrors of this war,” he added.
According to London, more than 14.6 million people, or 40% of the Ukrainian population, will need humanitarian aid in 2024. This 8.5 million pounds is part of the 357 million pounds (417.8 million euros) of humanitarian aid committed since the start of the invasion by the United Kingdom, which, all types of aid combined, has devoted almost 12 billion pounds sterling (14 billion euros) to Ukraine.
This article is originally published on lorientlejour.com
