Britain ‘in for long haul’

Truss pledges to rebuild Ukraine as Putin seizes another key city

LIz Truss will today pledge that Britain is in it for the ‘long haul’ with its support for Ukraine.

The Foreign Secretary will tell a conference in Switzerland that the UK will ‘do everything possible to ensure Ukraine wins the war and recovers’.

Her officials say president Volodymyr zelensky has asked the UK to champion the recovery of the capital Kyiv and the surrounding region. But the job is being made more challenging by Russian missile strikes and the fighting in the east of the country.

Miss Truss will use the event in Lugano to set out plans both for immediate support and long-term commitments. She is expected to say: ‘Ukraine’s recovery from Russia’s war of aggression will be a symbol of the power of democracy over autocracy.

‘It will show Putin that his attempts to destroy Ukraine have only produced a stronger, more prosperous and more united nation. The UK is resolute in its support of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and will remain at Ukraine’s side as it emerges as a strong, thriving and cutting-edge democracy.’

Miss Truss will announce plans to host next year’s recovery conference as the Government commits to a Marshall Plan-style programme, echoing the one used to rebuild Europe after the Second World War. ‘We need to be in this for the long haul,’ she will say.

Russia has now established total control over half of Ukraine’s Donbas region, its defence minister said yesterday.

Sergei Shoigu told Vladimir Putin that Moscow’s forces had taken control of the last major Ukrainian-held city in the Luhansk area, Lysychansk, marking the region’s complete ‘liberation’.