Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has said that the UK’s support for Ukraine will never change.
Putin’s cruel and unprovoked war has been going on for 100 days and has caused more death and destruction in Ukraine than has been seen in Europe since World War II. However, he has not been able to make the progress he had hoped for because of the brave resistance of the Ukrainian people.
There have been tens of thousands of deaths, and more than 6.6 million people have had to leave the country. Even though 8 million Ukrainians have moved within their own country, 13 million are stuck in conflict zones, and 16 million need help from humanitarian organizations.
Russia’s theft of grain and destruction and blockade of key ports have also made one of the worst food crises in recent history much worse. This crisis now threatens many countries and puts the most vulnerable people in the world in danger.
This somber occasion, according to the Foreign Secretary, is a day to commemorate the Ukrainian people’s determination, which has demonstrated that Putin cannot triumph as long as they have the international assistance they require and deserve.
The Foreign Secretary stated that the UK would stay resolute in its support for Ukraine’s right to self-determination and the withdrawal of the Russian military.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss remarked on Friday:
“Today marks 100 dark days since Putin launched his unjustified and illegal war against Ukraine. He expected the invasion to be over in days, but significantly underestimated the resolve of brave Ukrainians, who have valiantly defended their country.
“Putin’s invasion has brought death and destruction on a scale not seen in Europe since WW2. This war has huge ramifications for global peace, prosperity and food security. It matters to us all.
“Today is a moment to pay our respects to the thousands of innocent civilians murdered since the invasion, and reaffirm our steadfast support for Ukraine’s heroic defence, to ensure they succeed and Putin fails.”
Since Putin began massing forces on Ukraine’s borders, the United Kingdom has been instrumental in galvanizing and leading the international response.
- Sanctions: Together with our allies, we continue to impose crippling economic sanctions, cutting off funding for Putin’s war machine. The UK has sanctioned over 1,000 individuals and 100 entities, including oligarchs with a net worth of more than £117 billion. We have targeted Russian trade, with import tariffs covering £1.4 billion worth of goods. Russia’s economy is set to take a £256 billion hit, with its GDP expected to shrink up to 15 per cent this year – the deepest recession since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
- Military support: We were among the first to provide military support to Ukraine, including 10,000 missiles and training more than 22,000 army members, helping to halt Putin’s barbaric onslaught.
- Humanitarian aid: We are a leading humanitarian donor, providing £220 million of aid. We have sent more than 11 million medical items to Ukraine, and are donating 42 ambulances, saving thousands of lives.
- International engagement: The UK has led international efforts to support Ukraine’s objectives, working with the EU, NATO and likeminded allies. The UK, Ukraine and 44 other countries launched an OSCE mission to investigate Russia’s violations of human rights & international humanitarian law. We are making sure Russia is held to account for war crimes and, providing an additional £1 million to the ICC to support their investigations into war crimes and, with the US and the EU, creating the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group (ACA).
- Exposing Putin’s lies: We are countering the Kremlin’s blizzard of lies and disinformation by telling the truth about Putin’s war of aggression. We will work with our allies on the urgent need to protect other European countries that are not members of NATO and that could become targets of the Kremlin playbook of subversion and aggression.