UK Prime Minister: The UK will stand with you in the darkness and in the light
The blue and yellow flag will today fly defiantly across Ukraine, yet its people were never meant to commemorate this moment again. For 1,643 days of full-scale invasion, Putin has tried to erase this anniversary from your calendar. And for 1,643 days, Ukrainians have made it impossible for him to succeed.
I know that has not come without cost.
Today, Ukrainian children will study underground, and their parents will put them to bed fearful for what horror the night might bring.
Ukrainian servicemen and women will risk everything to defend the line between reason and violence.
And countless Ukrainians will find the courage to carry on in the names of those lost to this senseless war.
On the 35th anniversary of the restoration of your independence, the British people stand in solidarity with the free people of Ukraine.
We pay tribute to every Ukrainian fighting to maintain your right to live in a country of your own making. And we honour those who have given their lives so that others will know that future.
On a personal note, I would like to assure the people of Ukraine that while there has been a change of leadership in Britain, there will be no change in our support for Ukraine. President Zelenskyy was the first world leader I hosted as Prime Minister.
Today, Ukraine becomes the first country I visit as Prime Minister.
I want this to serve as a statement that Britain remains your most committed, most reliable friend.
We all know true friends offer more than words. The UK will provide Ukraine with €3.5 billion a year of military support for as long as it takes. At the Ankara Summit, together with NATO Allies, we pledged €70 billion in military assistance, equipment and training for Ukraine this year – and the same again next year.
Make no mistake, Putin sees these numbers as a signal that Ukraine’s friends are sticking around.
I am acutely aware this is no moment for self-congratulation. Night after night, Russia continues its brutal pounding of your homeland with drones and missiles. Last winter was punishing. Russian attacks plunged towns and cities into darkness and cold.
Preparations for the next have already begun and Ukraine desperately needs its partners to dig deep – into their stockpiles and their pockets – to provide the air defence systems and energy support needed to protect lives, homes and infrastructure. The UK will be at the forefront of that effort.
We will stand with Ukraine every day your fight lasts. We will be with you long after it concludes. For more than a year, the Coalition of the Willing has convened dozens of countries to form a plan for how a Ukraine-led peace deal will be sustained. And today, I am proud to take up co-leadership of the Coalition alongside President Macron and Chancellor Merz.
Britain will never mistake who is bearing the burden of this terrible war and the support we provide will always be unconditional. The people of Ukraine do not owe Europe anything, it is Europe who owes the people of Ukraine everything – you are not only defending your own freedom, you are defending ours as well.
This war was never only about the fate of one nation. If one authoritarian can violate international law, abuse every standard of human decency and redraw a border by force, then others will be tempted to do the same. What happens in Ukraine matters to the whole of Europe, it matters to the rest of the world.
It has been said that 24 February 2022 was the date of the second referendum on Ukrainian independence. The world saw how the people of Ukraine answered and it inspires us to this day still. It is a cruel irony that you are forced to mark your independence under the pain of conflict once again. This is a war you did not choose but from which you refuse to back down.
For our part, Britain will not forget about Ukraine.
Our hundred-year partnership is a commitment to the long term. We will not tire. We will not turn away.
The time will come when Ukrainians gather to celebrate independence free to live in peace and prosperity. And when that moment arrives, Britain will be there: proud to have stood with you in the darkness, ready to build a future with you in the light.
From our nation to yours, Happy Independence Day – and Glory to Ukraine.
Andy Burnham,
The UK Prime Minister