Britain pledges long-term support to Ukraine for war and recovery

Foreign Secretary Lis Truss will outline plans for reconstruction of the country's economy

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss. AP.

UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will pledge Britain’s support to Ukraine for the “long haul” to resist Russia's invasion and to rebuild the nation.

Ms Truss will tell a recovery conference in Switzerland on Monday that the UK will “do everything possible to ensure Ukraine wins the war and recovers”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked the UK to champion the recovery of the capital of Kyiv and the surrounding region, the British Foreign Office said.

But attempts to recover and rebuild are made more challenging by Russia’s ability to strike the capital with missiles as its forces make creeping advances in the east.

Ms Truss will use the conference in the city of Lugano to set out a vision to give immediate support and long-term commitments to work alongside the Ukrainians.

“Ukraine’s recovery from Russia’s war of aggression will be a symbol of the power of democracy over autocracy," say excerpts of her address, which were released early.

"It will show [Russian President Vladimir] Putin that his attempts to destroy Ukraine have only produced a stronger, more prosperous and more united nation.

“We have led on support for Ukraine during the war and will continue to lead in supporting the Ukrainian government’s reconstruction and development plan.”

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  Ukrainian servicemen in a shelter at the frontline near Kharkiv. AP

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  A Ukrainian and his puppy in the Donetsk region. AP

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  Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, third left, is shown apartment buildings damaged by Russian shelling during his visit to Irpin on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP

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  Rescue specialists work at the site of a destroyed residential building after blasts in Belgorod, Russia. Reuters

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  A woman lays flowers during a demonstration against the invasion of Ukraine in front of the Palais des Nations, in Geneva, Switzerland. EPA

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  A woman injured when her house was damaged by the Russian shelling sits in the yard of her house, in Bakhmut, Ukraine. AP

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  Local residents stand next to a damaged residential building in the town of Serhiivka, about 50 kilometres south-west of Odesa, Ukraine. AP

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  Viktor Shevchenko stands in a crater to show its depth after a Russian shelling in the Saltivka district in Kharkiv. AP

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  An image taken from a video provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office purports to show the moment a missile struck the shopping mall in Kremenchuk. AP

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  People watch as smoke rises after a Russian missile strike hit a crowded shopping mall, in Kremenchuk. AP

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  Firefighters clean the rubble of the destroyed Amstor shopping mall in Kremenchuk. EPA

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  A woman cries after the body of her husband, who was killed in the yard of an apartment building during shelling, was loaded into an ambulance in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AP

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  Firefighters and rescue workers at the destroyed Amstor shopping mall. EPA

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  Rescuers work at the site of a shopping mall hit by a Russian missile strike, in Kremenchuk. Reuters

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  A couple wounded by a Russian missile strike hold hands in a hospital, in Kremenchuk. Reuters

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  People wait to receive humanitarian aid in front of a residential building damaged during a Russian attack in Borodyanka, Ukraine. EPA

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  Ukrainian servicemen take a bus to their positions near Severodonetsk, in Luhansk area. EPA

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  A Ukrainian service member and a dog in the industrial area of the city of Severodonetsk. Reuters

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  A couple sits in front of a residential building that was damaged during a Russian attack, in Borodyanka. EPA

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  Local residents receive humanitarian aid in Borodyanka. EPA

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  A Ukrainian armed forces tank in Severodonetsk. Reuters

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  Ukrainian service members walk past a damaged car in Severodonetsk. Reuters

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  A giant Ukrainian flag is held up during the benefit concert 'Embrace Ukraine' on the Museumplein in Amsterdam. The free event will raise money for victims of the war in Ukraine and the purchase of mobile X-ray equipment that the country needs. EPA

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  A fire from a gas processing plant continues to burn behind a field of wheat after it was hit by shelling a few days earlier in Andriivka, in the Kharkiv region. Reuters

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  An onlooker takes in the damage from overnight shelling on Kharkiv's Housing and Communal College. Reuters

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  A destroyed tank in the village of Novoselivka, outside Chernigiv. AFP

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  A man decorates a toy cabin for children made from used ammunition crates in the village of Novoselivka, outside Chernigiv. AFP

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  An internal view of the Housing and Communal College building damaged by recent shelling in Kharkiv. EPA

Ms Truss will announce plans to host next year’s recovery conference as the government commits to a Marshall Plan-style programme, similar to the one used to rebuild Europe after the Second World War.

“The UK will do everything possible to ensure Ukraine wins the war and recovers. We need to be in this for the long haul,” she is expected to say.

Mr Putin has focused his assault on the eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk after withdrawing from the offensive in Kyiv amid fierce resistance.

Moscow claims that Russian forces have taken control of Lysychansk, the last major Ukrainian-held city in Luhansk.

Russia hit Kyiv with missile strikes last week in what Ukrainians called an intimidation attempt as they seek a return to normal life while still under siege.

Authorities said at least 19 people, including two children, were killed in a missile attack on the town of Serhiivka, near Odesa, on Friday.

Another 19 were killed and 62 injured in a missile strike on a shopping centre in the central city of Kremenchuk last Monday, Ukrainian authorities said.