UK stands by Ukraine:British High Commissioner to SL

The United Kingdom and the international partners would stand united in condemning Russia’s assault on Ukraine, which is an unprovoked, premeditated, and needless attack against a sovereign democratic state,British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Sarah Hulton said. 

Over recent weeks, the Russian government has repeatedly denied its hostile intent towards Ukraine. Russia has now invaded a sovereign, democratic, and peaceful country. President Putin has broken international law, and repudiated the UN Charter.

“It is clear that the Ukrainian people are putting up a fierce and brave fight in defence of their families, their country, and their democracy. The UK will continue to support the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian people in their heroic efforts, in the face of this assault on their sovereignty and territorial integrity," Sarah Hulton said.

On Sunday 27 February, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a further £40 million package of humanitarian assistance to help aid agencies respond to the situation in Ukraine - bringing the total committed to Ukraine this year to £140 million.

The UK has joined international partners, including the EU and US, in launching an unprecedented set of economic measures. These are aimed at raising the cost to Russia of its invasion and at pressing Russia to withdraw its military forces from Ukraine and to de-escalate.

The UK has provided wide-ranging support to help Ukraine to defend itself from Russian attack: training 22,000 soldiers, supplying 2,000 anti-tank missiles, and providing £100 million for economic reform and energy independence, plus a guarantee of up to $500 million of development bank financing. The UK has 1,000 troops at readiness to support a humanitarian response in the region, and has deployed an extra 350 troops to Poland to support Ukraine’s neighbours with refugee flows from Ukraine. The UK is working closely with allies and partners both in Ukraine and the region to ensure humanitarian needs are met.

President Putin has fabricated a false narrative of NATO aggression to provide a spurious pretext for his actions. However, NATO is, and always has been, a defensive alliance, and poses no threat to Russia. NATO operates transparently and only deploys troops to partner countries with host government permission.

Russia’s war represents an outrageous assault on the fundamental international rules and norms enshrined in the UN charter. Russia must urgently de-escalate and withdraw its troops. 

There is no justification for Russia’s actions. The UK, in concert with its international partners, will always defend the right of a free, sovereign, independent nation to choose its own future. The UK stands with Ukraine and its people.