The UK is ramping up its military aid package to Ukraine by sending 120 armoured vehicles for the first time.
Downing Street made the pledge following Boris Johnson’s unannounced visit to Kyiv to meet President Zelensky.
The Prime Minister said he travelled to the Ukrainian capital as ‘a show of our unwavering support for the people of Ukraine’.
As well as the armoured vehicles, in a significant stepping-up of UK military support, Mr Johnson said Britain would also be sending new anti-ship missile systems.
Speaking after the visit, Boris Johnson said: ‘Ukraine has defied the odds and pushed back Russian forces from the gates of Kyiv, achieving the greatest feat of arms of the 21st century.
‘It is because of President Zelenskyy’s resolute leadership and the invincible heroism and courage of the Ukrainian people that Putin’s monstrous aims are being thwarted.
‘I made clear today that the United Kingdom stands unwaveringly with them in this ongoing fight, and we are in it for the long run.
‘We are stepping up our own military and economic support and convening a global alliance to bring this tragedy to an end, and ensure Ukraine survives and thrives as a free and sovereign nation.’
It comes the day after he announced a further £100 million worth of UK military assistance, including anti-tank and anti-aircraft weaponry and so-called ‘suicide drones’, which loiter over the battlefield before attacking their target.
Ukraine has been pleading for more military aid from the west as it prepares for a bloody battle in the east.
A fresh round of fighting is expected in the Donbas region after Putin’s forces withdrew from the Kyiv region – leaving behind evidence of mass killings and atrocities on a scale not seen since World War Two.
On Friday, a Russia launched a rocket attack on civilians fleeing Kramatorsk rail station in Donetsk – killing 50 people.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, told a Nato meeting that ‘weapons, weapons and weapons’ could help prevent more atrocities being carried out in Ukraine.
‘I think the deal that Ukraine is offering is fair; you give us weapons, we sacrifice our lives, and the war is contained in Ukraine’, he said.
Experts believe western arms are required to turn the tide and push back Russian forces.
Russia, however, has warned the west that ‘pumping weapons into Ukraine’ will have a ‘negative effect’ on peace negotiations.
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