The new British prime minister, Rishi Sunak, made his first visit to Kiev this Saturday (19) since taking office on October 25, pledging to remain steadfast in supporting Ukraine in the conflict against Russia, as did his predecessors, and provide a new air defense package to help shoot down Russian drones.
“Britain knows what it means to fight for freedom,” Sunak wrote on Twitter. “We are with you.”
Sunak said in a statement that the UK would provide a new £50m ($60m) package, which includes anti-aircraft weapons and technology such as radar to counter drone strikes. He added that he would increase the training offered to Ukraine’s armed forces.
“While the Armed Forces of Ukraine manage to repel Russian forces on the ground, civilians are being brutally bombed from the air,” Sunak said in his statement.
“Today we are providing new air defense, including anti-aircraft weapons, radar and anti-drone equipment, and stepping up humanitarian support for the cold, harsh winter ahead.”
Sunak, a former finance minister, took over last month after the short tenure of Liz Truss. She and her predecessor, Boris Johnson, have made public support for Ukraine an important part of their agenda, a promise Sunak has kept.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a video of the two meeting and hailed London’s continued support.
“With friends like you by our side, we are confident of our victory. Both nations know what it means to defend freedom,” Zelensky tweeted.
The Ukrainian also said on Saturday that his army had repelled nearly 100 Russian attacks in the past 24 hours.
Russia, for its part, said Ukraine had executed more than ten POWs. KIev did not directly comment on the allegation, but said it would investigate alleged abuse.
A newly released report by Yale University, USA, concluded that there were dozens of people missing or detained in Kherson, Ukraine, while the territory was under Russian control. The document also states that dozens of people may have been tortured during the invasion.
Kremlin forces left the region last week. Russia has denied its forces committed abuses.
The war between Russia and Ukraine has been going on for more than eight months.
Kiev in the dark
Russian forays into Ukraine’s power system have paralyzed nearly half of the country’s entire operation, according to Ukraine’s government. In the capital, Kiev, officials warned that there could be a “complete shutdown” of the power grid with the arrival of winter, between December and February.
The cold months in Europe register very low temperatures and require more electrical capacity due to the need for heaters. This week, the United Nations warned of the risk of a humanitarian disaster due to water and electricity shortages.
On Friday (18), Poland denied entry to Serguei Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, in its territory, where he was to participate in a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
In a statement on Saturday, the Russian ministry called the exclusion “unprecedented” and “a provocation”, and says it “inflicts irreparable damage on the authority of the entire organization”.
Poland explained that the Russian delegation “should not include people affected by EU sanctions” after the start of the conflict with Ukraine.
Ministers of the OSCE, an organization that brings together 57 countries, including Ukraine, celebrate their annual meeting in the first days of December in Lodz, Polish county.
The Russian delegation will be led by the country’s ambassador to the OSCE, Alexander Lukashevich, according to Moscow.
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