STORY
The UK has reaffirmed its support for Ukraine and its right to defend itself against Russia as the country marks the 35th anniversary of its independence. Speaking at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Arron Newble, the UK’s Counsellor for Politico-Military Affairs, said Ukrainians were continuing to defend the sovereignty they chose when the country declared independence on 24 August 1991.
Newble said Russia’s invasion had sought not only to seize Ukrainian territory but also to undermine the country’s identity, sovereignty and culture. He referred to an OSCE Moscow Mechanism report which documented the indoctrination and militarisation of Ukrainian children, as well as attacks on cultural and religious sites and pressure on communities living under Russian occupation. The UK representative said Russia had failed to achieve the political submission or rapid military victory it had sought.
The statement also condemned recent Russian missile and drone attacks, including strikes on 19 and 20 August which the UK said killed at least 17 civilians, followed by a drone attack on a shopping centre in Kryvyi Rih which it said killed another 16 people and injured more than 130. Newble said the UK would continue supporting Ukraine’s legitimate self-defence and efforts to secure what he described as a just and lasting peace, arguing that Ukrainian resistance was also defending wider European principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and the right of countries to determine their own future.