Britain will donate 13 armoured vehicles to help evacuate civilians from besieged areas in the east of Ukraine, the government announced on Tuesday.
“This latest donation of armoured vehicles will help protect innocent Ukrainians attempting to flee Russian shelling and support Ukrainian officials carrying out vital work,” Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in a statement.
The steel-plated vehicles, which can resist high-velocity bullets, anti-personnel mines and improvised explosive devices, would also be used to transport officials to temporary command posts and to help workers rebuild railway lines, according to the statement.
Speaking as the first western leader to address members of the Verkhovna Rada since the start of the conflict, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “It is precisely because of your valour, your courage, your sacrifice, that Ukrainians now control your own destiny.”
“You are the masters of your fate, and no one can or should impose anything on Ukrainians. We in the UK will be guided by you and we are proud to be your friends,” Johnson stated, noting that he had “one message for you today: Ukraine will win, Ukraine will be free.”
