UK to send more money to support Ukraine’s ‘indomitable people’

Newly promised aid will be used to tackle the deteriorating humanitarian situation

Refugees from Ukraine rest inside an arrival centre set up in Chisinau, Moldova, on March 5. AP

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The UK government is set to donate another £74 million ($97.7m) to Ukraine to support its “indomitable people” through the humanitarian crisis brought on by Russian attacks.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to begin a week of “focused engagement” with world leaders on Monday, as he tries to get support for his six-point plan to tackle Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The prime ministers of Canada and the Netherlands will visit London and accompany Mr Johnson to an RAF base to meet members of the UK armed forces.

The three leaders will have separate meetings and a joint meeting, where it is expected the British leader will continue to press for sustained support for Ukraine.

The three will then hold a public briefing at Downing Street.

Cars are left abandoned on a road as residents flee the town of Irpin, Ukraine after days of heavy shelling. Reuters

A Ukrainian soldier helps a family fleeing from Irpin. Reuters

A bus passes the Duke of Wellington statue, which has a traffic cone in the colours of the flag of Ukraine placed on top of it, in Glasgow, Scotland. AP

Ukrainian children sleep at the reception point at the train station in Przemysl, Poland. Reuters

Smoke rises as a Ukrainian soldier stands by the only escape route used by locals to flee from the town of Irpin. Reuters

A man flees from Irpin. Reuters

A screengrab from footage released by the Russian Defence Ministry shows a purported Russian tank unit advancement in the Kyiv region. AFP

People walk on debris of residential buildings damaged by shelling in the Zhytomyr region. Reuters

A damaged residential building after Russian multiple rocket launchers shelled the area in the southern city of Mykolaiv. AFP

Ukrainian soldiers sit in their armoured vehicle after fighting against Russian troops and Russia-backed separatists near Zolote village, Luhansk region. AFP

A woman offers accommodation for people fleeing Ukraine at the main railway station in Berlin, Germany. Getty Images

A soldier holds a helmet as a wedding crown during the ceremony for members of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces Lesia Ivashchenko and Valerii Fylymonov, at a checkpoint in Kyiv. AP

Ukrainian soldiers carry a woman fleeing the town of Irpin. AP

A factory and warehouse burn after being bombarded in Irpin. AP

Ukrainian soldiers near Zolote. AFP

A Ukrainian refugee boy, wearing a blanket on his shoulders, warms his hands with a gas heater shortly after crossing the Siret border into northern Romania. EPA

People demonstrate against the Russian military operation in Ukraine in Buenos Aires, Argentina. EPA

First responders work at the scene after a missile hit a building at Havryshivka Vinnytsia International Airport in Vinnytsia, Ukraine. Reuters

A woman at a checkpoint on the road to Kyiv after her evacuation from a nearby town. AFP

A placard in the Ukrainian colours is held up at an anti-war demonstration the Bebelplatz square in Berlin, Germany. Reuters

A Ukrainian serviceman helps an elderly woman in Irpin, 20 kilometres north-west of the capital Kyiv. AP Photo

Protesters cry during a demonstration in support of Ukraine at the Plaza Catalunya square in Barcelona. AFP

A man walks past a machine gun at a checkpoint next to the last bridge on the road that connects the town of Stoyanka to the outskirts of Ukraine's capital Kyiv. AFP

Ukrainian servicemen put a wounded man on a stretcher in Irpin. AP Photo

People board a train to return to Ukraine after getting supplies in Zahony, Hungary. AP Photo

Balloons in the colors of Ukraine during a demonstration against the Russian attack on Ukraine, in Mainz, Germany. AP

A Ukrainian girl helps to weave a camouflage net for the Ukrainian army, in Odesa. EPA

Molotov cocktails prepared by a group of volunteers in Odesa. Hundreds are made every day. EPA

Ukrainian servicemen assist people fleeing the town of Irpin after crossing the Irpin River on an improvised path under a bridge that was destroyed by a Russian air strike. AP Photo

A woman holds a dog while crossing the Irpin River on an improvised path under a bridge that was destroyed by a Russian airstrike, while assisting people fleeing the town of Irpin, Ukraine. AP Photo

Marina Yatsko and her boyfriend Fedor comfort each other at a hospital in Mariupol after her 18-month-old son Kirill was killed by shelling. AP Photo

Ukrainian civilians receive weapons training in a cinema in Lviv, western Ukraine. AP Photo

Residents flee the town of Irpin, near Kyiv, Ukraine. AP Photo

Ukrainian soldiers carry a sick woman as civilians flee Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, after Russian attacks. AP Photo

Captured Russian soldiers at a press conference in the Interfax news agency in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP Photo

Ukrainians beneath a destroyed bridge in Irpin. AP Photo

A woman fleeing Ukraine on a bus near the border crossing in Korczowa, Poland. AP Photo

A Ukrainian soldier and a militia man help a fleeing family on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 5, 2022. AP Photo

Smoke rises after shelling by Russian forces in Mariupol. AP Photo

People at a hospital during shelling by Russian forces in Mariupol. AP Photo

Displaced Ukrainians at the Resurrection New Athos Monastery in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. AFP

The £74m aid, provided through the World Bank, could go towards public sector salaries, allowing crucial state functions to keep operating, or supporting social safety nets and pensions for the Ukrainian people.

“In the time since Russia’s illegal and brutal assault, we have seen the world stand up tall in solidarity with the indomitable people of Ukraine," Mr Johnson said.

“UK aid is already reaching those who need it most, delivering essential supplies and medical support.

“While only Putin can fully end the suffering in Ukraine, today’s new funding will continue to help those facing the deteriorating humanitarian situation.”

More than £100m has been raised to provide aid for Ukraine in an “amazing show of support” from the UK public.

That is the equivalent of more than £1m an hour since the appeal was launched, the Disasters Emergency Committee said.

It said the funds are already being used by DEC charities inside Ukraine and at its borders to provide people fleeing the war with food, water, medical assistance, protection and trauma care.

The committee said the message from aid workers was that money was needed rather than specific donated items, which were often not what people needed and were difficult to transport.

More donations will help to increase the work of the charities, which include Save the Children, Age International and the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development.

The DEC, which is made up of 15 leading UK aid charities, said “generous donations” have been made by the Queen, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge, among others.

The latest total includes £25m in match-funding from the UK government, the largest commitment ever made to a DEC appeal through the British aid match scheme.