Britain announced a new package of military aid for Ukraine on Friday but said it was up to the country’s former Warsaw Pact neighbours to provide the hardware that would most help it fend off Russia’s invasion.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the £100 million ($130m) package would include “high-grade military equipment”, including Starstreak anti-aircraft missiles, 800 anti-tank missiles and precision munitions.
He made the announcement, which also included a promise of more helmets and body armour, after holding talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who was making his first visit to London since taking office in December.
It came after Ukraine pleaded with Nato countries this week for “weapons, weapons, weapons” to repel the Russian offensive and prevent further atrocities, following the massacre discovered in Bucha, near Kyiv.
Ukraine has requested tanks and warplanes, but Mr Johnson played down the possibility of Britain widening its supply of weapons by saying some of Nato’s equipment “simply wouldn’t be appropriate” for Ukrainian forces.
Instead, countries in the former Soviet sphere of influence might have more suitable equipment that could be shipped to Ukraine and replaced by hardware from Britain and other countries, he said.
“It may be more useful to support the Ukrainians by backfilling and allowing some of the former Warsaw Pact countries to supply some of their own armour,” he said. “That may be something we’ll want to consider doing more of.”
Slovakia has proposed such a scheme, offering Soviet-era S-300 air defences to Ukraine if it could receive American-made Patriot defence systems in exchange.
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Women, wrapped in a Ukrainian flag, embrace during a flash mob protesting sexual abuse by Russian soldiers in Ukraine, at Washington Square Park in New York. AFP -
The train station, seen from a train car, after a rocket attack in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. A rocket attack on the station in the eastern Ukrainian city killed 52 people as civilians raced to flee the Donbas region bracing for a feared Russian offensive. AFP -
Antonina Kaletnyk waits for the body of her son in front of a collapsed building in the town of Borodianka, north-west of Kyiv. AFP -
A vehicle drives past a hole on a damaged bridge, on the outskirts of Kyiv. AFP -
A segment of a large rocket with the words "for our children" in Russian is pictured next to the main building of the train station in Kramatorsk. EPA -
Antonina Kaletnyk waits for the body of her son in front of a collapsed building in the town of Borodianka, northwest of Kyiv. AFP -
A woman waves goodbye to her husband as she leaves on a bus, a day after the rocket attack at a train station in Kramatorsk. AFP -
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and EU foreign affairs envoy Josep Borrell during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine. EPA -
European Commission President Ursula and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attend a news conference in Kyiv. Reuters -
Ms von der Leyen shakes hands with President Zelenskyy as Mr Borrell looks on during their meeting in Kyiv. EPA -
Ms von der Leyen and Mr Borrell before their meeting with President Zelenskyy in Kyiv. EPA -
Ms von der Leyen, Mr Borrell and Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal visit the town of Bucha, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine. Reuters -
Smoke rises after Russian shelling at the railway station in Kramatorsk, in the Donbas region of Ukraine. AP -
Burnt vehicles are seen in the aftermath of a rocket attack on the railway station in Kramatorsk. AFP -
Policemen at the scene in Kramatorsk. AFP -
The remnants of a rocket after the deadly strike in Kramatorsk. AFP -
Survivors of the attack sit on a bench outside the station. AFP -
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen departs for Kyiv in Przemysl, Poland. Reuters -
A man wheels his bicycle past a destroyed tank in Chernihiv. AP -
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Barcelona Mayoress Ada Colau visit the refugee centre set up at Fira de Barcelona for the care, temporary reception and referral of Ukrainian citizens fleeing the war. EPA -
Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin follows the address of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy via video link at the Finnish Parliament in Helsinki. AFP -
A young refugee from Ukraine and a dog wait in the ticket hall of the railwlay station in Przemysl, eastern Poland, which has become a hub for refugees from Ukraine fleeing their country due to Russia's aggression. AFP -
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanks MPs after his virtual address to the Greek Parliament in Athens. AFP -
Firefighters take a rest after working at the site of buildings that were destroyed by shelling, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine in Borodyanka, in the Kyiv region, Ukraine. Reuters -
Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, poses for a picture during an interview with The Associated Press during an interview in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP -
Ukrainian soldiers Anastasia and Vyacheslav embrace prior to their wedding ceremony in a city park in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP -
Yurii, 41, who serves in the Ukrainian military, grabs a wedding photograph from his apartment in Hostomel, Ukraine. Getty Images -
A damaged car is seen next to a heavily damaged apartment building in Hostomel, Ukraine. Getty Images -
Burnt cars are seen next to a field in Hostomel, Ukraine. Getty Images -
Svitlana, 62, shows a heavily damaged house in the residential area, in Hostomel, Ukraine. Getty Images -
Ukrainians, who fled to Mexico amid the Russian invasion of their homeland, enjoy the performance of a mariachi band at the Benito Juarez sports complex, set up as a shelter by the local government, after arriving in Tijuana to enter the U. S. , in Tijuana, Mexico. Reuters -
A Bushmaster protected mobility vehicle bound for Ukraine waits to be loaded onto a C-17A Globemaster III aircraft at RAAF Base Amberley, Australia. AP -
Residents and volunteers cross the destroyed bridge to the city with supplies in Irpin, Ukraine. Getty Images -
A Ukrainian serviceman attends a training session in Kharkiv outskirts, Ukraine. AP -
A Ukrainian serviceman walks on a destroyed Russian fighting vehicle in Bucha, Ukraine. AP -
Screens show results from voting by the UN General Assembly in New York as member countries pass a resolution to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. EPA -
The shell of a theatre destroyed in the southern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol. Reuters -
A woman lights candles during a demonstration to support Ukraine in downtown Sofia. AFP -
Territorial Defence fighters are trained near Kharkiv. EPA -
Rescuers work among remains of residential building destroyed by Russian shelling in Borodyanka, Kyiv region. Reuters -
Smoke rises over the town of Rubizhne, in the Donbas region. AFP -
Ukrainian soldiers sit on an armoured military vehicle in the city of Severodonetsk, Donbass region. AFP -
Painted pictures showing Ukrainian cities hang on a wall at "Cafe Ukraine" in Berlin, Germany. Getty -
A Ukrainian refugee's dog arrives on a train from Odesa at Przemysl Glowny train station in Poland. Reuters
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has named the S-300 as one of the systems his country needs to fight off an invasion which is now in its seventh week. A Slovakian government office said today it had sent such a system this week.
Also this week, the Czech Republic sent T-72 tanks and BVP-1 infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine.
Australia is supplying 20 of its domestically produced Bushmaster armoured combat vehicles, following a direct request from Mr Zelenskyy during an address to the Australian Parliament.
The EU has also offered one billion euros ($1.09) to Ukraine to go shopping for its own weapons from manufacturers.
But, as the EU’s own diplomatic chief Josep Borrell said this week, that figure is a fraction of the amount of money paid into Russian coffers for fossil fuel imports to Europe.
Mr Johnson said he and Mr Scholz had agreed to collaborate on ending that reliance, amid pressure on Germany over its opposition to an immediate embargo which it says would cause unacceptable economic damage at home.
“We want to work together with Germany to achieve that,” said Mr Johnson, who said the proposed energy collaboration would include maximising oil and gas extraction from the North Sea.
Mr Scholz said Germany was “doing all we can” to free itself from Russian energy, with plans under way to be end reliance on coal and oil this year but not stop importing gas until 2024.
The EU this week agreed an embargo on coal, in its first venture into energy sanctions after the massacre in Bucha raised pressure on western countries to toughen sanctions on Russia.
An oil embargo will be discussed at talks between EU foreign ministers on Monday.
Ukraine wants to complete the set by blocking gas imports from Russia, on which Europe is particularly reliant.
