Prime Minister Boris Johnson has set out his plan which he hopes will mean Russian President Vladamir Putin fails in Ukraine.
Mr Johnson will be in talks with world leaders this week, starting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Monday. He will host the leaders of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia on Tuesday. He spoke to the French, Turkish and Serbian leaders last week.
While Ukraine has called for more aggressive help in its fight with Russian invaders, including a no-fly zone, but NATO and member states including the UK have resisted. Mr Johnson's six-point plan - which he hopes to get other world leaders behind - does not include any mention of no-fly zones, or military intervention beyond "supporting Ukraine in its efforts".
Read more: Ukrainians in Newcastle call for no-fly zone, but what is one and why hasn't it happened?
So, what is the plan the UK hopes will - in its Government's own word s - be part of an international "renewed and concerted effort to ensure Putin fails in Ukraine "?
Boris Johnson's six-point plan for Ukraine
- Mobilise an international humanitarian coalition for Ukraine
- Support Ukraine in its efforts to provide for its own self-defence
- Maximise the economic pressure on Putin’s regime
- Prevent the creeping normalisation of what Russia is doing in Ukraine
- Pursue diplomatic paths to de-escalation but only on the basis of full participation by the legitimate government of Ukraine
- Begin a rapid campaign to strengthen security and resilience across the Euro-Atlantic area
Boris Johnson has told President Volodymyr Zelensky that “the British people stand fully behind the Ukrainian people” when they spoke on Sunday.
Downing Street said the Prime Minister told his counterpart that “international support and admiration for President Zelensky and the whole of Ukraine grows every day”.
A No 10 spokesperson said: “The leaders discussed the increasing threat Russia’s barbaric attacks pose to Ukrainian civilians and the Prime Minister underlined the UK’s determination to ensure Putin fails.”
They added: “The leaders discussed the urgent needs of the Ukrainian armed forces and the Prime Minister undertook to work with partners to provide further defensive equipment.
“The Prime Minister and President Zelensky also discussed the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Ukraine, precipitated by Russia’s indiscriminate attacks and ceasefire breaches.”
Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab said the UK is urging international leaders to support Ukraine with “everything from military hardware through to cyber resilience” and to prevent a “creeping normalisation” of what Russia is doing in Ukraine.
“We’ve seen this in many places; we’ve seen it in Libya where the Wagner mercenaries operate, we’ve seen it in Ukraine, whether it’s in the Donbas or Crimea, that Putin takes a chunk.
“We express our condemnation and it becomes the de-facto, normal baseline.
“We cannot let that happen in relation to this invasion of Ukraine…
“Otherwise we’ll just see more aggression in the future.”
Shadow defence secretary said the Prime Minister must back up his words with action, amid that the UK is not doing enough to support Ukrainian refugees
John Healey told Times Radio: “It’s exactly what the alliance of not just western states but increasingly international opinion is actually doing.
“In many ways, some of our allies could reasonably turn around and say ‘well it’s all very well for you, Boris Johnson, but you’ve got to now match some of your tough rhetoric with your own action, particularly on humanitarian assistance, on diplomacy and on sanctions’.”
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