UK political leaders vow to stand by Ukraine 'until they prevail' on second anniversary of the war
UK political leaders have vowed to support Ukraine "until they prevail" on the second anniversary of Moscow’s invasion.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said “tyranny will never triumph” as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s troops defend the country against an emboldened Russia.
Mr Sunak insisted the UK is “going further in our support”, and Britain is prepared to do “whatever it takes, for as long as it takes”.
Saturday marks two years since the Kremlin launched its attack on Ukraine, starting the biggest incursion in a European country since the Second World War.
Mr Sunak, who visited Kyiv last month to sign a new security agreement and announce an increase in military funding for the country, said "on this grim anniversary, we must renew our determination."
He added: “This is the moment to show that tyranny will never triumph and to say once again that we will stand with Ukraine today and tomorrow.
“We are prepared to do whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, until they prevail.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, who hopes to enter Number 10 after the general election this year, said Britain would always support Ukraine “no matter who is in power in this country” and said Mr Putin’s “cowardice and barbarity” will not prevail.
Sir Keir said: “The resistance of the Ukrainian people has inspired and humbled the world. The UK and our allies will stand in solidarity with them until their day of victory.
“We will not waver. We will not abandon them. We will not be divided in the face of tyranny or oppression."
Earlier, Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron warned the United Nations against “fatigue” and “compromise” over Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Lord Cameron said the world must “recognise the cost of giving up” in a speech in New York.
European countries are struggling to find enough stock to send to Kyiv, and US help worth 60 billion dollars (£47 billon) is stalled over political differences in Washington.
Speaking at the UN general assembly on Friday, Lord Cameron said: “Two years on, I recognise some want a rethink. There is a sense of fatigue. There are other problems.
“A compromise might seem attractive. But this is wrong. We must recognise the cost of giving up.
“Putin has said there will be no peace until Russia’s goals have been achieved. And in his latest interview, he studiously avoided confirming he was satisfied with the land seized from Ukraine at present.”
The foreign secretary added: “This is not a man seeking compromise. Rather, this is a neo-imperialist bully who believes that might is right.”
Lord Cameron also renewed his appeal to US politicians to pass a multi-billion-dollar aid package including support for Ukraine, telling reporters during his visit: “This is fundamentally about US security too.”
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Kyiv has kept up strikes from behind the front line in recent weeks but moved to a defensive posture amid critical shortages on the battlefield.
Lord Cameron, who was UK prime minister during Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, started his speech by saying “the lesson of this history is clear: if we do not stand up to Putin, he will be back for more.”
“Putin tries to claim that Russia is fighting not against Ukraine, but against the whole of the west,” he told the assembly.
“He claims we are somehow out to dismember Russia. That is the central lie of this war.”
Victory for the Moscow leader would not end with Ukraine, Lord Cameron said.
“Putin could easily apply his distortions of history elsewhere, such as Moldova or the Baltic States,” he told allies.
“And others will be emboldened to turn to fighting when it suits them. No country with a large, aggressive neighbour would be safe.”
It comes after the foreign secretary called earlier this month for the US to pass a bill including support for Ukraine, likening any refusal to do so with appeasement of Hitler in the 1930s.
The intervention drew the ire of right-wing congresswoman and Donald Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Greene, who told him to “kiss my ass” and “worry about his own country”.
The bill has passed through the Senate but faces a deeply uncertain future in the House of Representatives, where hardline Republicans aligned with Republican presidential front-runner Mr Trump oppose the legislation.
Kyiv officials have pleaded with western partners to accelerate delivery of military aid so its forces can hold out against an emboldened Moscow.
Ukrainian forces withdrew from the strategic eastern city of Avdiivka at the weekend, where they had battled a fierce Russian assault for four months despite being heavily outnumbered and outgunned.
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