UK sending more weapons to Ukraine, says Johnson

By Muhammad Mussa

LONDON (AA) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday announced a package of military aid for the Ukrainian armed forces.

In a joint news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz held at Downing Street, Johnson said the package would include sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles as well as anti-tank missiles and high-grade military equipment to bolster Ukraine’s military defenses in the coming weeks as rumors of a renewed Russian offensive spread.

“Today I can announce that the UK will send a further £100 million ($130 million) of high-grade military equipment to Ukraine’s armed forces, including more Starstreak anti-aircraft missiles, which fly at three times the speed of sound, another 800 anti-tank missiles and precision munitions capable of lingering in the sky until directed to their target,” Johnson said.

“We will also send more helmets, night vision, and body armor onto the 200,000 pieces of non-lethal military equipment the UK has already dispatched. Olaf and I agree that our two countries and our allies must go further and provide more help to Ukraine,” Johnson added.

- Energy supplies

The prime minister also spoke of the importance of weaning off the UK’s and EU’s dependence on Russian energy supplies including oil, gas, and coal. Johnson complimented Chancellor Scholz on his efforts to rid Germany of Russian gas and coal and to search for alternative energy supplies.

Scholz confirmed Germany’s plans to reduce its dependence on Russian energy and promised to end the use of fossil fuels in the process and to increase its use of green energy. Germany has been heavily dependent on oil, gas, and coal imports from Russia and had been hesitant at cutting off all energy imports from Russia.

“Germany is already starting to wean itself off its dependence … We are doing all we can, and we are doing a lot ... We are actively working to get independent from the import of oil and we think we will be able to make it this year,” Scholz said.

“We are going to intensify our cooperation on all levels. We want to make progress and intensify relations between our two countries,” Scholz added.

- Attack on Ukrainian train station condemned

The British prime minister also condemned latest attack on a train station in the Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk which killed a number of civilians, including children.

Johnson made clear that Europe would never be the same following Russia’s war on Ukraine and said that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s actions had worked to unite European and transatlantic alliances and to stand in solidarity with Ukraine.

“Britain and Germany share exactly the same sense of horror and revulsion at the brutality being unleashed, including the unconscionable bombing of refugees fleeing their homes this morning,” the UK premier said.

“The attack at the train station in eastern Ukraine shows the depths to which Putin’s once-vaunted army has sunk. At least 39 people were killed and dozens wounded on a train platform crowded with women and children. It is a war crime to indiscriminately attack civilians and Russia’s crimes in Ukraine will not go unnoticed or unpunished,” Johnson added.

- Targeting Russian economy

The prime minister emphasized the importance of the shared British and German conviction that Putin must fail in Ukraine and that the two countries along with their allies in the G7 and NATO will strengthen sanctions against the Kremlin and target the Russian economy.

Scholz described the attack as “unfathomable” and blamed Putin directly who, he said, bears the responsibility for this crime and all other war crimes committed in Ukraine.

“Killing civilians is a war crime and the Russian president bears the responsibility for these war crimes. Boris Johnson and I share this assessment. I call upon Russia again to finally agree to a cease-fire and withdraw its troops. This war needs to stop immediately,” the German chancellor said.

More than 30 people were killed and over 100 wounded in a missile attack on a train station in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk.

The Russia-Ukraine war, which started on Feb. 24, has drawn international outrage, with the EU, US, and the UK, among others, implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.

At least 1,626 civilians have been killed in Ukraine and 2,267 injured, according to UN estimates, with the true figure feared to be far higher.

More than 4.3 million Ukrainians have fled to other countries, with millions more internally displaced, according to the UN refugee agency.