From the United Kingdom Embassy, Chargé d’affaires Julia Smith, held speech where she said that this unprovoked and unjustifiable aggression has taken a huge toll on the people of Ukraine violating international law and human rightswith this barbaric attack against a sovereign democratic state.
“Last Saturday, we marked two years since Russia’s illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Despite this the people of Ukraine have continued to withstand everything that has been thrown at them. But at an enormous cost.The world knows what is at stake here. If Putin succeeds in seizing territory from another sovereign UN state, others will take note. And the world order will become even more unstable”, added Smith.
Smith said that Putin is not winning, and that two years into a war that he mistakenly thought would take days. The longer it goes on, the more the people of Ukraine and Russia suffer.
“The war could end today if he withdrew.At a time of such danger and uncertainty in the world, we cannot insulate ourselves from these crises. Our response needs to be one of strength, resilience and unity. We need to build up our defences, stay close to our strongest friends and partners, and reach out to new allies. The UK along with North Macedonia, NATO allies and others have been resolute in their support for Ukraine and will continue to be so for as long as it takes. If we do not continue our support for Ukraine, there is a very real risk that the Rules Based International System upon which so much of our security and prosperity relies, will be irreversibly damaged”, Smith pointed out during her speech.
She also mentioned that the UK has now provided almost £12 billion in military, humanitarian and economic support to Ukraine and has often been the first-mover on vital lethal aid, and that the UK’s non-military support to Ukraine since the start of the invasion comes to £4.7bn. “This includes £4.1bn in fiscal support, and over £660m in bilateral assistance. The latest package of £2.5bn was announced by PM Rishi Sunak in January this year”, stated Smith.
“We have introduced the largest and most severe package of sanctions ever imposed on Russia or indeed any major economy. And we have now sanctioned over 1700 individuals and entities since Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Even though many countries haveprovided support for Ukraine, this support would not have counted for anything had it not been for the outstanding courage of the Ukrainian people and their sheer determination to ensure that theywould not succumb to tyranny. The resilience and fortitude of Ukraine’s people and armed forces is an inspiration to all members of the free world. Slava Ukraini!”, concluded Smith.
