UK pledges £88 million to Ukraine in bid to support democracy and reduce reliance on Russia
ITV News Correspondent Dan Rivers reports from Kyiv on the volunteer soldiers prepared to risk their lives should Russia invade
Boris Johnson will reaffirm his support for Ukraine with £88 million of aid for the country as he urged Russia to “avoid further bloodshed”.
The prime minister will meet with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyon on Tuesday, and has committed money from the UK’s Good Governance Fund to help “support stable governance and energy independence”. As well as supporting transparency and anti-corruption initiatives, some of the £88 million announced will go towards efforts to reduce Ukraine’s reliance on Russian energy supplies.
The announcement comes after Boris Johnson missed a call with Russia's president Vladimir Putin on Monday. Mr Johnson had said he would warn Mr Putin to "step back from the brink" during their chat, but it was cancelled while the PM dealt with the fallout from Ms Gray's probe into alleged lockdown-breaching parties at Downing Street.
Mr Johnson has been criticised by the Labour party for being distracted from the Russia-Ukraine conflict by the partygate scandal.
There are around 100,000 Russian troops amassed on the border with Ukraine, a move causing global concern that an invasion is imminent.
Britain has been assisting Ukraine with bolstering its defences since Russia invaded in 2014 and annexed the Crimean Peninsula, with UK soldiers providing training and the government supplying weaponry.
“It is the right of every Ukrainian to determine how they are governed.
"As a friend and a democratic partner, the UK will continue to uphold Ukraine’s sovereignty in the face of those who seek to destroy it," the prime minister said.
“We urge Russia to step back and engage in dialogue to find a diplomatic resolution and avoid further bloodshed.”
Ahead of the PM's visit, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss warned Russia could face new, tougher sanctions in response to any aggression against Ukraine.
Ms Truss - who was due to travel to Ukraine with the prime minister but will now miss out after testing positive for Covid on Monday night - told the House of Commons that “nothing is off the table” with a proposed sanctions regime the government said goes “further than ever before”. Until now, the UK has only been able to sanction those linked to the destabilisation of Ukraine.
Should there be no de-escalation of Russian troops, planned measures put forward by the Foreign Office could be used to target senior figures or businesses linked to Mr Putin’s administration. This legislation would mean the UK could "act swiftly in lockstep with the US and other allies to freeze assets and ban travel", the government said.