Johnson sends Ukraine £300m as Zelenskyy pays tribute to UK
BORIS Johnson has confirmed the UK will send a package of support worth £300 million to Ukraine in coming weeks, as he addressed the country’s parliament.
The Prime Minister also echoed the words of Winston Churchill in the video address to the Verkhovna Rada, describing Ukraine’s resistance against Vladimir Putin’s invasion as its “finest hour”.
Mr Johnson stood for the Ukrainian national anthem ahead of his speech, and was introduced by the Ukrainian parliament’s speaker.
Ukrainian MPS in the chamber could be seen holding a Union Jack and the Ukrainian flag.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke afterwards, describing the UK and Ukraine as now “brothers and sisters”.
It is reportedly the first time Mr Zelenskyy had appeared in parliament in person since the war began.
Mr Johnson told the parliament: “In the coming weeks, we in the UK will send you Brimstone anti-ship missiles and Stormer anti-aircraft systems.
“We are providing armoured vehicles to evacuate civilians from areas under attack and protect officials... while they maintain critical infrastructure.
“We will carry on supplying Ukraine, alongside your other friends, with weapons, funding and humanitarian aid, until we have achieved our longterm goal, which must be so to fortify Ukraine that no-one will ever dare to attack you again.”
The Prime Minister also told Ukrainian MPS that their country would win the war, and said the conflict had “sowed the seeds of catastrophe” for president Putin.
He added that Ukraine had
“exploded the myth of Putin’s invincibility” and that Russia’s “war machine” had “broken on the immovable object of Ukrainian patriotism”.
Echoing Churchill, the Prime Minister said: “This is Ukraine’s finest hour, that will be remembered and recounted for generations to come.
“Your children and grandchildren will say that Ukrainians taught the world that the brute force of an aggressor counts for nothing against the moral force of a people determined to be free.
“They will say that Ukrainians proved by their tenacity and sacrifice that tanks and guns cannot suppress a nation fighting for its independence, and that is why I believe that Ukraine will win.”
In 1940, following the fall of France, Churchill sought to rally Britons to resist the Nazis – telling the country that it would be remembered as their “finest hour”.
Mr Johnson’s address to the Ukrainian parliament is the first by a world leader since the conflict with Russia began.
It comes after the Prime Minister told ITV’S Good Morning Britain that the Government could have been faster in helping Ukrainian refugees.
When pressed by presenter Susanna Reid about the difficulties, Mr Johnson said: “So far, 86,000 visas have been issued and 27,000 are already here and I want to say, thank you – 27,000 is a lot and it’s growing fast and I want to pay tribute to all those who are helping to look after Ukrainians.
“Could we have done it faster? “Yes, perhaps we could.”
The Prime Minister was also grilled over the cost-of-living crisis, confronted with the case of Elsie, a 77-year-old woman who only eats one meal a day as her energy bills have risen from £17 a month to £85.
Ms Reid said: “She gets up early in the morning to use her Freedom bus pass to stay on buses all day to avoid using energy at home. What else should Elsie cut back on?”
Mr Johnson replied that he didn’t want Elsie to “cut back on anything” and said he was responsible for launching the Freedom bus pass when he was Mayor of London.
Ms Reid replied: “So she should be grateful to you for her bus pass?”
The PM was cornered with another case of a family with two disabled daughters, who were struggling to pay for energy required to power the lifesaving equipment for their children at home.
Ms Reid asked if Mr Johnson knew by how much the carer’s allowance went up, to which he replied he did not but expects it was not by much.
Finishing the interview, Mr Johnson also asked “Who’s Lorraine?” when told that Scottish TV star Lorraine Kelly would be talking about the cost of living later on the programme.
His spokesman later acknowledged he had not been across “ITV’S daytime line-up” as he had many other “pressing issues on his desk”.
This is Ukraine’s finest hour, that will be remembered for generations to come