The United Kingdom said it will offer further aid and military support to Ukraine worth £1.3 billion as it bolsters its commitment to the country’s defense against Russia.
The pledge this weekend comes as G7 leaders prepare to discuss the ongoing conflict with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a videoconference on Sunday. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has already agreed to provide Kyiv with air defense systems, anti-tank missiles and other lethal weaponry since Russia launched its invasion on February 24.
“Putin’s brutal attack is not only causing untold devastation in Ukraine — it is also threatening peace and security across Europe,” Johnson said in a statement to media to announce the extra support.
Zelenskyy said in a video posted on Sunday to commemorate the end of World War II that “evil has returned to Europe.”
While Ukrainian authorities say civilians have now been evacuated from the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, the governor of the eastern Luhansk region said on Sunday that up to 60 people have likely been killed in the bombing of a local school.
Also on Sunday, the president of Germany’s Bundestag, Bärbel Bas, arrived in Kyiv as the latest European politician to visit the city for political talks.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Sunday that Russia shouldn’t be able to set the terms of any peace agreement that brings its invasion of Ukraine to an end.
“I cannot tell you today when and how Russia’s cruel war against Ukraine will end,” Scholz said in a television address to commemorate the 77th anniversary of the end of World War II. “But one thing is clear, there should not be a peace dictated by Russia. The Ukrainians will not accept that, and neither will we.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin is set on Monday to give a speech in Moscow addressing the invasion. Monday is the day Russia commemorates its victory in World War II.
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