UK to send 24 ambulances to Ukraine, says foreign secretary during visit

The overseas caput has announced the UK volition nonstop 24 ambulances to Ukraine, portion connected a sojourn to the country.

James Cleverly travelled to the superior Kyiv connected Thursday and is acceptable to clasp talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

It comes conscionable days aft Rishi Sunak besides made a sojourn to the city, his archetypal since becoming premier minister.

Mr Cleverly said the UK stands "shoulder to enarthrosis with Ukraine" and that Russia's onslaught "will fail".

As good arsenic ambulances, a further 11 exigency vehicles, including six armoured vehicles, volition beryllium portion of the exigency package.

It volition see £3m successful backing to assistance with the rebuilding of infrastructure, specified arsenic schools and shelters, that has been destroyed since the commencement of the war.

The funds volition besides beryllium utilized to enactment survivors of intersexual assault. The struggle has seen galore reports, including by UN representatives, of intersexual unit by Russian troops against Ukrainian civilians.

Mr Cleverly said that, arsenic wintertime sets in, Russia was aiming to "break Ukrainian resoluteness done its brutal attacks connected civilians, hospitals and vigor infrastructure".

Recent weeks person seen renewed bombardments of Kyiv and different cities by Russian forces, peculiarly targeting sites cardinal to the country's powerfulness network.

The attacks person caused intermittent powerfulness outages, prompting wide interest astir however the humanitarian concern successful the state could deteriorate successful the coming months. Temperatures implicit wintertime tin autumn arsenic debased arsenic -20C successful parts of Ukraine.

The UK is already supplying Ukrainian troops with wintertime equipment, including dense work sleeping bags and mats, heated accommodation and cold-weather clothing.

"I person contiguous announced a bundle of hands-on enactment for our Ukrainian friends successful their fight," Mr Cleverly said.

"I've seen present first-hand however the UK's efforts are helping brave citizens to defy and rebuild. Our enactment volition proceed for arsenic agelong arsenic it takes for this singular state to recover."

During his ain sojourn to Kyiv, the premier curate acceptable retired a £50m bundle of defence support, including 125 anti-aircraft guns and instrumentality to antagonistic Iranian-supplied drones.

That followed an announcement earlier this period that an further 1,000 surface-to-air missiles would beryllium sent.

Meeting President Zelensky, Mr Sunak said it was "deeply humbling [to conscionable people] paying truthful precocious a terms to support the principles of sovereignty and democracy".