PM praises UK public for raising £85m aid money
BORIS Johnson has heaped praise on the response of the British public to the war in Ukraine as he reiterated his belief that Vladimir Putin would fail in his invasion of the country.
The Prime Minister said it was “absolutely vital that Vladimir Putin understands that this hideous, barbarous assault cannot succeed and that he will fail”.
In a video message on Twitter, Mr Johnson said: “I want to thank businesses, community groups, individuals, sports clubs, who’ve been coming together to support Ukraine.
“I think of the group in Northern Ireland that’s got a local warehouse as a centre for supplies to go to the war zone, I think of Inna Schorr, a London-based Ukrainian who’s raising thousands of pounds, while her own family are still back in Ukraine.
“And don’t forget too for all Ukrainian families here in the UK, we have ways that you can bring your wider relatives back to the UK.”
More than £85m has now been raised to provide aid for Ukraine through the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), in what has been described as an “absolutely incredible” show of support from the UK public.
The Government has pledged to match public donations to the appeal pound-for-pound up to £25m.
Collections of donated items have also been taking place across the country, but DEC chief executive Saleh Saeed told BBC Breakfast: “What we would advise is the things that people collect today here in the UK are not necessarily what people need tomorrow.
“That’s why we would urge, please donate cash through a reputable charity.
“Trying to transport goods from here, the UK, thousands of miles to Ukraine will take a long time and may not be necessarily what people need when it arrives.”
Mr Johnson’s thank you message came as hundreds of people gathered in cities across the country to protest against Russia’s assault on Ukraine.
In London’s Trafalgar Square, the Ukrainian national anthem was sung and “stop Putin, stop the war” chanted, as demonstrators draped themselves in the country’s flag.
The rally began with a prayer led by Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, the papal nuncio to Great Britain, who said: “Today we are all Ukrainians.”
Volodymyr Shevetovskyy, 31, and his girlfriend Nadiia Soshenko, 27, from Kyiv, said they were grateful for support from western countries but called for a no-fly zone to be imposed over Ukraine.