Western Morning News (Saturday)
UK to send £2m of food to Ukraine
THE UK is providing £2 million of food supplies to parts of Ukraine encircled by Russian forces, the Government has said.
Warehouses in Poland and Slovakia are being readied to supply the “rapid donation” of dried food, tinned goods and water to the Ukrainian government from early next week, according to the Foreign Office. Around 25 truckloads will then to be transported by road and rail to the communities in greatest need.
And the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced typhoon jets and Royal Air Force (RAF) personnel are being deployed to Romania for a fourth year to join the long-standing Nato air policing mission for the Black Sea region.
The FCDO said the quick donation of food supplies to Ukraine was “essential”, with the window closing to reach people in towns and cities already encircled, as well as those at high risk.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: “This vital donation of food and supplies will help support the Ukrainian people in the face of Russia’s barbaric invasion.
“Our teams are working day and night with our Polish and Slovakian friends, and the government of Ukraine, to ensure those most at risk get the essential supplies they so badly need.”
Alice Hooper, FCDO humanitarian adviser, added that many people in encircled areas were “trapped in basements without access to food or water”.
“Nearly six million children remain in Ukraine, many sheltering inside buildings which are coming under attack,” she said. “We are working with partners at the borders to ensure these vital UK supplies reach the places they are needed most as quickly as possible.”
The RAF deployment forms part of Nato’s increased presence in Europe in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the MoD said.
It involves four Typhoon jets from 3 (Fighter) Squadron, normally based at RAF Coningsby, and 150 RAF personnel.
Armed forces minister James Heappey said: “The UK remains committed to Nato and European security in the face of Russian aggression and the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.” Air policing is a purely defensive operation, the MoD said, and “ensures the security and integrity of all Nato alliance members’ airspaces”.
Meanwhile, Boris Johnson has had a “frank and candid discussion” with China’s President Xi Jinping about the situation in Ukraine, Downing Street has said.
The call came after Nato leaders urged Beijing to “abstain” from supporting Russia’s war effort and to refrain from any actions that would help it circumvent sanctions.
In a terse readout after the 50-minute call, a No 10 spokesman said they had discussed “a range of issues of mutual interest”, including the situation in Ukraine.
“It was a frank and candid conversation lasting almost an hour. They agreed to speak again soon,” the spokesman said. After Thursday’s emergency Nato summit in Brussels, alliance leaders called on the Chinese government “to cease amplifying the Kremlin’s false narratives”. They include unsubstantiated Russian claims – strongly denied by the US – that the United States is financing biological weapons laboratories in Ukraine.