No 10 says Ukrainian parliament address was not

No 10 says Ukrainian parliament address was not ‘publicity stunt’

No 10 has rejected suggestions that the prime minister’s address to the Ukrainian parliament was a “publicity stunt”.

Boris Johnson’s official spokesperson told this afternoon’s lobby briefing that : “No. Obviously… the support we have given is just the latest tranche of support that has been provided.

“Through MOD you will know that support, equipment, is going over on an extremely regular basis.”

Boris Johnson has this afternoon addressed Ukraine’s Parliament today via live videolink, the first world leader to address the Verkhovna Rada since the conflict began.

No 10 say Kyiv requested the address.

This comes as the UK government announces a new £300 million package of defensive military aid for Ukraine and send specialised civilian protection vehicles.

The prime minister said the United Kingdom is “proud to be among Ukraine’s friends” when he speaks to parliamentarians later today.

Ministers updated Parliament last week on plans to send sophisticated land Brimstone missiles and STORMER air defence vehicles to Ukraine.

The new aid package will support Ukraine’s ongoing defence against Russia’s illegal invasion. The package includes electronic warfare equipment, a counter battery radar system, GPS jamming equipment and thousands of night vision devices.

The UK will also send in the coming weeks heavy lift systems to provide logistical support to isolated forces, and more than a dozen new specialised Toyota Landcruisers to help protect civilian officials in Eastern Ukraine and evacuate civilians from frontline areas, following a request from the Ukrainian government.

Johnson said that the country’s resistance against Russian invasion was: “[is] Ukraine’s finest hour, an epic chapter in your national story that will be remembered and recounted for generations to come.

“Your children and grandchildren will say that Ukrainians taught the world that the brute force of an aggressor counts for nothing against the moral force of a people determined to be free.”

He also descried the conflict as “good versus evil”, explaining that: “There are many reasons your country [Ukraine] has evoked such astonishing sympathy in the British people. It is a conflict that has no moral ambiguities or no grey areas.”