UK largest bilateral humanitarian donor to Ukraine as UK, Canada and The Netherlands launch new Ukraine solidarity alliance
A landmark solidarity pact launched by the leaders of the UK, Canada and the Netherlands will mobilise practical and sustained support for Ukraine.
- The UK pledges extra £100m in aid, UK now the largest bilateral humanitarian donor to Ukraine.
- Builds on earlier announcement of $100m (£74m) cash injection into Ukraine’s economy and takes UK total offer of support to the current Ukraine crisis to around £400 million.
- ‘International Ukraine Support Group’ will coordinate the global community to deliver long-term support for Ukraine.
- New initiative follows the Prime Minister’s six point ‘plan of action’ for the international community to ensure Putin fails in his ambitions.
- Separately – UK and Canada agree to strengthen bilateral cooperation across security, defence, trade, science, global travel health and climate sectors.
A landmark solidarity pact launched by the leaders of the United Kingdom, Canada and the Netherlands will mobilise practical and sustained support for Ukraine.
The new initiative – the International Ukraine Support Group – will bring together global partners committed to ensuring strong political, humanitarian, economic and defence support for Ukraine.
The group will mobilise international allies to coordinate and reinvigorate assistance to Ukraine - likely to be tested over time – to ensure efforts are sustained in the long-term. The trio will encourage more countries to join and the UK will be raising this with their partners.
Last week 141 countries voted to condemn Putin’s war at the historic UN General Assembly vote. 39 countries – including the UK, Canada and the Netherlands - joined the largest referral to the International Criminal Court in history to expedite an investigation.
The UK, Canada and The Netherlands have been leading the way in their response to Ukraine’s requests for help including issuing punitive sanctions and providing defensive military equipment.
At the same time, the UK is now the largest bilateral humanitarian donor to Ukraine. It comes as we commit another £100m in aid to Ukraine to save lives, protect vulnerable people inside the country and in the wider region and to tackle the growing humanitarian crisis. It will provide basic necessities including medical supplies.
It takes UK total offer of support to the current Ukraine crisis to around £400 million.
This includes the $100m (£74m), announced yesterday, for the Ukrainian government budget to mitigate financial pressures created by Russia’s unprovoked and illegal invasion.
In today’s press conference, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:
As Ukrainians resist Russia’s onslaught with courage and tenacity, the international community must aid their struggle in every way we can.
To aid these efforts, today the UK is joining our Dutch and Canadian friends to mobilise more practical and sustained support for Ukraine.
This is the moment for Ukraine’s friends to create a coalition of humanitarian, economic and defensive military support to ensure that Putin fails.
The formation of the partnership commences a week of concerted engagement by the Prime Minister to drive the international community to ensure Putin fails in his ambitions, set out in his six-point plan.
On Tuesday, he will host leaders of the ‘V4’ group of Central European nations – the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.
Separately – the UK and Canada have agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation across security, defence, trade, science, global travel health and climate sectors.
Under the commitment, the two countries will enhance deeper collaboration with respect to security and intelligence, including through Five Eyes, to better combat current and future threats to democracy. They will also strengthen cooperation on economic resilience, especially supply chains.
The pair will build on existing defence relationships which will protect and defend our shared interests in the Indo-Pacific. The UK’s polar research vessel HMS Protector will visit Canada in the summer.
Negotiations will start for a new, ambitious, progressive free trade agreement between Canada and the UK and the two countries will work together to successfully complete the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
A new UK-Canada Travel Health Dialogue will look at enhancing alignment on border and travel measures, and on how countries use global travel health policies in their responses to further variants and global health challenges.
The government will continue to work closely with the international community to strengthen security and resilience, and make a renewed and concerted effort to ensure Putin fails in Ukraine.