John Healey also instructed officials to ensure that the military aid package promised in April is expedited and delivered to Ukraine in full within the next 100 days.
Britain’s new Defence Secretary John Healey was forced to take cover in a bomb shelter during his first official visit to Odesa, Ukraine this weekend.
When John Healey spent his Thursday night awaiting the election results in a South Yorkshire sports hall, he could never predict that just hours later he would be dodging missiles and fleeing for his safety during his trip to Ukraine. In Odesa, he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Defence Minister Rustem Umerov. But before they could conclude their talks on Saturday the air raid sirens rang out and they fled to safety in the basement of a Soviet-era building acting as Mr Umerov’s temporary HQ.
Despite the missile strikes nearby, Mr Healey remained calm and insisted talks continued in the basement. Around 35 minutes later, the all clear was given and the pair returned upstairs. Following the meeting, Mr Healey assured that the UK would provide a new package of support to Ukraine, including more artillery pieces, a quarter of a million rounds of ammunition, and nearly 100 Brimstone precision-guided missiles.
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John Healey also instructed officials to ensure that the military aid package promised in April is expedited and delivered to Ukraine in full within the next 100 days., according to the Sun The military aid package, which is the largest on record, includes; 400 vehicles, 1600 strike and air defence missiles, including additional Storm Shadow long-range precision guided-missiles, four million rounds of ammunition and 60 boats, including off-shore raiding craft
The UK has provided more than £7.6 billion of military support since Ukraine’s unprovoked invasion, according to Gov.uk. The support provided by the UK so far has proved pivotal in supporting Ukraine’s ability to defend itself since the war started, having been the first country to provide modern, Western battle tanks, as well as long-range precision guided missiles.
More than 42,000 Ukrainian soldiers have also returned to fight in Ukraine after completing basic training in the UK since June 2022, under Operation Interflex.
While dodging missile strikes might be a daily occurence for hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians it would have been a terrifying ordeal for any British politician in the second day in the job.
Mr Healey’s predecessor Grant Shapps aborted a visit to Odesa in March over fears Russian spies knew about his plans. Mr Shapps claimed Vladimir Putin had come “perilously close to essentially assassinating two western leaders”, as Greece’s PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis was meeting Mr Zelensky at the timE.
