Boris Johnson quotes Churchill hails Ukraine’s ‘finest hour’, promises more military aid to fight Russia invasion
- Johnson pledged US$376 in military aid during a remote address to the Ukraine parliament, the first by a foreign leader to since Russia invaded on February 24
- The UK PM borrowed a phrase from Winston Churchill and said this was ‘Ukraine’s finest hour, that will be remembered and recounted for generations to come’
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Tuesday another £300 million (US$376 million) in UK military aid for Ukraine as he hailed its resistance to Russia as its “finest hour” in a remote address to parliament in Kyiv.
Johnson used the speech delivered via video link, the first by a foreign leader to Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada since Russia invaded on February 24, to commend Kyiv for fighting “with the energy and courage of lions”.
“This is Ukraine’s finest hour, that will be remembered and recounted for generations to come,” said Johnson, using a phrase first used by his hero Winston Churchill in a speech in 1940.
“The so-called irresistible force of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s war machine has broken on the immovable object of Ukrainian patriotism and love of country.
“We will carry on supplying Ukraine … with weapons, funding and humanitarian aid, until we have achieved our long-term goal, which must be so to fortify Ukraine that no one will ever dare to attack you again,” he told Ukrainian lawmakers.
The new military support, which will include electronic warfare equipment, a counter battery radar system, GPS jamming equipment and thousands of night vision devices, is the latest defensive aid from London.
Last week, it announced plans to send Ukraine armoured vehicles able to fire missiles against invading Russian aircraft, on top of previous contributions that have included anti-tank missiles, air defence systems and tonnes of plastic explosives.