San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
U.K. leader vows defense package on Ukraine visit
KYIV, Ukraine — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised 125 anti-aircraft guns and other air-defense technology as he made an unannounced visit Saturday — his first — to Ukraine’s snow-blanketed wartime capital for talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The air-defense package, which Britain valued at 50 million pounds ($60 million), comes as Russia has been pounding Ukraine’s power grid and other key infrastructure, causing widespread blackouts for millions of Ukrainians amid frigid weather. Zelenskyy said Russian strikes have damaged around half of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
The package includes radar and other technology to counter that Iran-supplied exploding drones that Russia has used against Ukrainian targets. It comes on top of a delivery of more than 1,000 anti-air missiles that Britain announced earlier this month.
The U.K. has been one of the staunchest Western backers of Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s invasion. Speaking alongside Zelenskyy, Sunak noted that the U.K has given 2.3 billion pounds ($2.7 billion) in military aid and pledged: “We will do the same again next year.”
“Your homes, your hospitals, your power stations are being destroyed,” Sunak said in announcing the new air-defense package. “You and your people are paying a heavy price in blood.”
As snowflakes fell, Zelenskyy greeted Sunak at a presidential palace for their talks. He called the two countries “the strongest of allies.” Walking in the snow, they also inspected captured Russian tanks and other destroyed and rusting military hardware used by the invasion forces that are displayed in a Kyiv square.
Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who stepped down in July amid ethics scandals, won wide praise in Ukraine for his support and made repeated visits to Kyiv. Sunak is eager to reassure Ukraine’s leaders that there will be no change of stance under his leadership, although when he was U.K. Treasury chief under Johnson he was considered resistant to demands for higher defense spending.
“The courage of the Ukrainian people is an inspiration to the world,” Sunak said. “In years to come, we will tell our grandchildren of your story.”
On the battlefield, Russian forces launched 10 air strikes, 10 missile strikes and 42 rocket attacks on Ukraine over the last day, the General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said Saturday.
Ukrainian forces said they killed or wounded scores of Russian soldiers during an attack on the village of Mykhailivka in the southern Kherson region.
Sunak’s visit came in the wake of a major recent battlefield success for Ukraine: the recapture of the southern city of Kherson. The restoration of rail service brought further joy Saturday to Kherson’s residents, who excitedly waited for the first train from Kyiv.
“This is the beginning of a new life,” said Ludmila Olhouskaya, 74, who didn’t have anyone to meet off the train but went to the station to show support. “Or rather, the revival of a former one.”