The Prime Minister is expected to hail Ukraine’s resistance
against tyranny as an exemplar for the world in a live address to
the country’s Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, today [Tuesday 3
May].
As the British embassy reopens in Kyiv, the Prime Minister will
say the United Kingdom is “proud to be among Ukraine’s friends”
when he speaks to parliamentarians via videolink.
Ministers updated Parliament last week on plans to send
sophisticated land Brimstone missiles and STORMER air defence
vehicles to Ukraine. The Prime Minister will
today [Tuesday] set out a new package of military aid today worth
£300 million, to support Ukraine's ongoing defence against
Russia's illegal invasion. The package includes electronic
warfare equipment, a counter battery radar system, GPS
jamming equipment and thousands of night vision devices.
The UK will also send in the coming weeks heavy lift UAV
systems to provide logistical support to isolated
forces and more than a dozen new
specialised Toyota Landcruisers to help protect civilian
officials in Eastern Ukraine and evacuate civilians from
frontline areas, following a request from the Ukrainian
government.
Speaking later this morning, the Prime Minister is expected to say:
“When my country faced the threat of invasion during the
Second World War, our parliament – like yours – continued to meet
throughout the conflict, and the British people showed such unity
and resolve that we remember our time of greatest peril as our
finest hour.
“This is Ukraine’s finest hour, an epic chapter in your
national story 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.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
- The PM is expected to address the Verkhovna Rada at around
1000 BST from the No 9 Briefing Room at Downing Street
