UK pledges new military aid to Ukraine ahead of G7 talks – POLITICO

The UK has announced it will offer further aid and military support worth £1.3 billion to Ukraine as it steps up its commitment to defending the country against Russia.

This weekend’s pledge comes as G7 leaders prepare to discuss the ongoing conflict with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a video conference on Sunday. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has already agreed to supply Kyiv with air defense systems, anti-tank missiles and other deadly weapons since Russia launched its invasion on February 24.

“Putin’s brutal attack is not only causing untold devastation in Ukraine – it is also threatening peace and security across Europe,” Johnson said in a statement Explanation to the media to announce the additional support.

Zelenskyy said in a videos posted on Sunday to commemorate the end of World War II that “evil has returned to Europe”.

While Ukrainian authorities say civilians have now been evacuated from the besieged Azovstal Steelworks in Mariupol, the governor of the eastern Luhansk region said called on Sunday that a bomb attack on a local school is likely to have killed up to 60 people.

Also on Sunday, the President of the German Bundestag, Bärbel Bas, arrived in Kyiv as the youngest European politician to visit the city for political talks.

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to deliver a much-anticipated speech about the invasion in Moscow.