Politics
Boris Johnson to echo Winston Churchill and hail Ukraine’s ‘finest hour’ in historic parliament address
BORIS Johnson will today echo Winston Churchill in a historic address to the Ukraine parliament — hailing the defence against Vladimir Putin’s war machine as the nation’s “finest hour”.
Speaking by video link, the Prime Minister will set out details of a new £300million package of military support.
Bpros Johnson will today echo Winston Churchill in a historic address to the Ukraine parliament
Winston Churchill’s famous Finest Hour speech was made just after the fall of France in 1940
Downing Street said last night it will include electronic warfare equipment, a radar system, GPS jamming kit and thousands of night-vision devices.
His address to the Verkhovna Rada follows his unannounced visit to capital Kyiv last month and is another show of solidarity with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Mr Johnson will say: “When my country faced the threat of invasion during the Second World War, our Parliament, like yours, continued to meet throughout the conflict.
“And the British people showed such unity and resolve that we remember our time of greatest peril as our finest hour.
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“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.”
The famous Finest Hour speech by Churchill was made just after the fall of France in 1940.
In March, Mr Zelensky received thunderous applause from MPs as he addressed Parliament by video and channelled Churchill’s “We will fight them on the beaches” speech.
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Speaking from his Kyiv bunker, he vowed Russian invaders would be defeated “on the sea and in the air”. He pledged: “We will fight for our land whatever the cost. We will fight in the forests, in the fields, on the shores, in the streets.”
New British aid for Ukraine will also include long-range Brimstone missiles and Stormer air defence vehicles, along with heavy lift aerial drones to provide logistical support to isolated units.
However, an investigation is reportedly under way into how UK-made components came to be used in weapons deployed by Russia.
The Royal United Services Institute said an abandoned Borisoglebsk-2 mobile jamming system was found to contain components made in the UK, US, Germany, South Korea, Taiwan and the Netherlands.
Meanwhile, the first civilians to flee the “Alamo” Azovstal steel plant in blitzed Mariupol were due to reach the relative safety of Zaporizhzhia last night.
Around 100 people — mostly women and children — escaped the sprawling steel plant in a major humanitarian breakthrough on Sunday.
More were due to follow after Mr Zelensky signalled the UN and Red Cross-backed mission would resume at 8am yesterday.
Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba confirmed it was “under way” but declined to say how many people were involved.
He warned: “Everything is very fragile. Things can fall apart at any given moment so it’s better to wait until the evacuation is over.”
Around 2,000 troops and 500 civilians were trapped in tunnels and bunkers where soldiers have made a desperate last stand in the final part of the city still under Ukrainian control.
Yesterday, European football chiefs confirmed Russian teams would be excluded from next season’s Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League.
Uefa also banned Russia from the Women’s European Championship in England in July and from participating in qualifying for next year’s women’s World Cup.
Russia’s bids to host the men’s Euros in 2028 and 2032 were also thrown out.
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Meanwhile, EU politicians remain split over how the Bloc can wean itself off Russian energy supplies.
Germany’s economy minister Robert Habeck said his country is not ready to block gas but could cope with an oil ban by the end of the year. Hungary is opposed to banning both Russian oil and gas.
Speaking by video link, Boris Johnson will set out details of a new £300million package of military support
Around 100 people, mostly women and children, escaped the besieged Azovstal steel plant in blitzed Mariupol
Help those fleeing conflict with The Sun’s Ukraine Fund
PICTURES of women and children fleeing the horror of Ukraine’s devastated towns and cities have moved Sun readers to tears.
Many of you want to help the five million caught in the chaos — and now you can, by donating to The Sun’s Ukraine Fund.
Give as little as £3 or as much as you can afford and every penny will be donated to the Red Cross on the ground helping women, children, the old, the infirm and the wounded.
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Texts cost your chosen donation amount (e.g. £5) +1 standard message (we receive 100%). For full T&Cs visit redcross.org.uk/mobile
The Ukraine Crisis Appeal will support people in areas currently affected and those potentially affected in the future by the crisis.
In the unlikely event that the British Red Cross raise more money than can be reasonably and efficiently spent, any surplus funds will be used to help them prepare for and respond to other humanitarian disasters anywhere in the world.
For more information visit https://donate.redcross.org.uk/appeal/disaster-fund
