Dinenage reaffirms Ukraine support on ‘anniversary’
By Linden Grigg
GOSPORT MP, Dame Caroline Dinenage, has reaffirmed her commitment to supporting the people and freedoms of Ukraine as the ongoing war in the country reached a third year; the world marking the second anniversary of the conflict this weekend.
Russian forces launched an illegal invasion of Ukraine early on February 24, 2022 after months of speculation and was a huge escalation of tensions in the region. Thousands of personnel from both sides have been killed during intense fighting and over eight million Ukrainians have been displaced from their homes in the last two years; whilst around 10,000 civilians have lost their lives.
The UK Government have provided over £7 billion in military, economic and humanitarian aid to Ukraine since the invasion; which has been widely condemned by world leaders and politicians. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recently announced that the UK will increase its contribution by £200 million in 2024/25 on the previous two years.
This funding increase will ensure that Britain becomes the biggest drone partner with Ukraine; the £200 million currently being earmarked for drone procurement during 2024. Currently the UK ranks third in the world for total support and was the first country to send main battle tanks into the conflict.
Britain has further supported Ukraine by helping to train 34,000 personnel fighting in the country and approximately 142,000 citizens have arrived safely under the “Homes for Ukraine” scheme. Government date shows that 140 visas have been issued under this scheme for Gosport, whilst Hampshire has seen 4,040 issued since June 2022.
The Gosport MP gave her own thoughts to mark the two-year anniversary, saying “The UK has led the world in its support for Ukraine, with military, economic, and humanitarian aid. We have been generous, opening up our homes to displaced Ukrainians, and our training bases to Ukrainian soldiers. We’ve implemented the widest range of economic sanctions ever, going even further in recent days in light of the death of Alexei Navalny. We will continue to do all that it takes because we know that a fight for Ukraine, is a fight for democracy against Putin’s tyranny and global security. Ukraine and her courageous people are never far from our thoughts.”
Defence Secretary, Grant Shapps, gave a House of Commons statement last week ahead of the anniversary on Saturday. He said: “As this war drags into its third year, far from winning, Russia has been pushed back since those early days. Putin has achieved none of his strategic objectives, his invading force has suffered a staggering 356,000 casualties, and Ukraine has destroyed or damaged about 30% of the Russian Black Sea fleet and retaken 50% of the territory that Russia stole from it.”
The Secretary of Defence continued: “I am proud that, over the course of the past 730 days, Britain has been at the forefront of [the] global response. We are giving Ukraine more of the help it needs, inflating its capabilities so that it can defend freedom’s frontline. The UK will not stop supporting the brave Ukrainians, our friends, until they have won and have victory.””
Readers are encouraged to explore media links like BBC News, Sky News and ITV News for fresh developing updates on the conflict in Ukraine; with more information on the war’s background available here.
PICTURED BY ALAMY (2J6APM5): Village of Dmytrivka sees the impact of Russian invasion back in April 2022, just two months into the conflict which has entered its third year.
