UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to tell Ukrainian MPs on Tuesday that the country’s reaction to Russia’s invasion is its “finest hour”.
It will come in a speech to Ukraine’s parliament in which Johnson will reference the UK’s World War II-era leader Winston Churchill.
Johnson is expected to say: “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.”
Speaking on the 69th day of the Ukraine war, Johnson will then say “when my country faced the threat of invasion during the Second World War, our parliament – like yours – continued to meet throughout the conflict.
“The British people showed such unity and resolve that we remember our time of greatest peril as our finest hour.”
Johnson is the first world leader to address the Verkhovna Rada since Russia invaded on 24 February.
He will tell Ukrainian lawmakers the UK is “proud to be among Ukraine’s friends”, as the British embassy reopens in Kyiv.
The UK PM will also detail further military aid to Ukraine worth £300 million (€358 million).
Electronic warfare equipment, a counter-battery radar system, GPS jamming equipment and thousands of night vision devices are included in the package.
Johnson will also pledge to send logistical support and specialised Toyota Landcruisers to help evacuate civilians in eastern Ukraine, at the request of the Ukrainian government.
Last week British ministers approved plans to send Brimstone missiles and STORMER air defence vehicles to Ukraine, which have been critical in slowing Russia’s advance.
Johnson’s visit to Ukraine comes amid mounting tensions between the UK and Russia.
In April, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss provoked Russian ire when she called for its forces to be “pushed out” of Ukraine and asked the west to “double down on arms supplies.”
This came off the back of remarks by another UK minister that it would be acceptable for Ukraine to strike targets in Russia with British weapons.
The Kremlin responded that such actions threatened European security and could potentially lead to World War Three.
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