Britain will provide Ukraine with about 6,000 new defensive missiles and almost £30 million to support the BBC’s coverage in the region and pay Ukrainian soldiers and pilots.
Boris Johnson will announce the new package of support on Thursday at the Nato and G7 leaders’ meetings while also signalling a willingness to bolster Ukraine’s defence capabilities further.
“The United Kingdom will work with our allies to step up military and economic support to Ukraine, strengthening their defences as they turn the tide in this fight,” the Prime Minister said.
“One month into this crisis, the international community faces a choice. We can keep the flame of freedom alive in Ukraine, or risk it being snuffed out across Europe and the world.”
As part of the package, the UK will provide 6,000 missiles and £25 million in financial backing for the Ukrainian military. It will also provide £4.1 million for the BBC World Service.
Follow the latest updates below.
04:20 AM
Zelensky calls for worldwide protests against Russia’s war
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made an impassioned plea on Thursday for citizens worldwide to pour onto streets and squares in global protest against Russia’s bloody month-old invasion.
In a late-night television address from the emptied streets of his nation’s besieged capital Kyiv, a defiant but visibly tired Mr Zelensky appealed in English for worldwide solidarity.
“The world must stop the war,” he said. “Come from your offices, your homes, your schools and universities, come in the name of peace, come with Ukrainian symbols to support Ukraine, to support freedom, to support life.”
His appeal came one month after Russian tanks rolled over the border, bringing a conflict that has killed untold thousands of civilians and soldiers on both sides.
More than ten million Ukrainians have already fled homes and cities under sustained Russian bombardment from land, sea and air.
03:19 AM
Up to 15,000 Russian soldiers killed since war began
NATO has estimated that between 7,000 and 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed since Russia’s war on Ukraine began one month ago.
In comparison, about 15,000 Russian troops lost their lives over 10 years in Afghanistan.
A senior NATO military official said the estimate had been based on information from Ukrainian authorities, Russia and intelligence gathered from open sources.
Ukraine has released little information about its own military fatalities.
However, President Volodymr Zelensky advised nearly two weeks ago that about 1,300 Ukrainian servicemen had been killed.
02:51 AM
Ukraine’s parliament recalls terror of invasion one month ago
The Ukrainian parliament has recalled the terror of the beginning of Russia’s invasion on February 24.
“We woke up to the whistling of rockets, the roar of explosions & the hell of fires in our homes,” it shared on Twitter on Thursday.
“We woke up to learn – with horror and pain – that war came to our homes, started by Russia.
“We are strong. We will keep on fighting until victory.”
2022. February 24. 04:00. We woke up to the whistling of rockets, the roar of explosions & the hell of fires in our homes. We woke up to learn – with horror and pain – that war came to our homes, started by Russia.
1/3 pic.twitter.com/Y1QIad51p1— Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine – Ukrainian Parliament (@ua_parliament) March 24, 2022
