Ukraine: Liz Truss to call on international community to step up supporton March 4, 2022 at 1:37 am

UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is to seek agreement from the international community to step up support for Ukraine, in the face of continuing attacks from Russian forces.

Ms Truss is due in Brussels on Friday for meetings with foreign ministers from Nato, the G7 and EU.

She is expected to press for support to reinforce the alliance’s eastern flank to try to deter Russian aggression.

Europe’s dependency on Russian oil and gas is also likely to be discussed.

Meanwhile, Home Secretary Priti Patel is visiting Poland to launch a new family scheme for Ukrainian refugees.

Under the extended scheme, which was announced earlier this week, British nationals and anyone settled in the UK will be able to apply to bring their parents, grandparents and siblings to the country.

The UK’s initial visa offer was restricted to immediate family, including children and partners.

In Brussels, the foreign secretary is expected to call on her counterparts to “embrace reliable partners rather than be dependant and beholden on any one country” for oil or gas.

Ahead of her trip, Ms Truss said she and her counterparts would work to “tighten the vice around Putin’s war machine”.

At talks with foreign ministers from the G7 group of advanced economies, she is expected to insist that co-operation between the UK and EU is “essential to defend European security”.

On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted the war was “going to plan”, despite taking only one major city – Kherson in the south.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has asked Mr Putin for one-to-one talks, saying it is the only way to end the war. He has also appealed to Nato to supply warplanes.

The UK has been supplying Ukraine with defensive weapons, including 2,000 anti-tank weapons, and has sent troops to the Nato military force in Estonia.

In Poland, the home secretary will meet Ukrainians applying for the UK’s family scheme in Medyka, near the border with Ukraine, accompanied by Polish deputy interior minister Bartosz Grodecki.

Speaking ahead of the visit, she said: “The British government will do everything it can to support the Ukrainian people at this critical moment as they fight for freedom.”

She said the extended scheme would enable Ukrainians with family in the UK “to be welcomed safely, quickly and free of charge”.

Under the scheme, normal requirements for salary or language tests will be waived and checks will be accelerated to process applications as quickly as possible, the Home Office said.

However, it added that “essential security checks” would still take place “given the malign action being taken by the Russian state to infiltrate Ukraine”.

It said the family scheme would be followed up by another for Ukrainians with no ties to the UK – with further details to be set out “in due course”

However, Labour urged the government to go further. It called for the creation of a simple emergency visa, valid for 12 months, allowing anyone fleeing the conflict to come to the UK, with normal visa conditions other than biometrics and security checks lifted.

More than one million Ukrainians have fled the country since the invasion began last week, according to the United Nations, with most heading for neighbouring countries.

So far, the UK has sent three planes with 320,000 medical items to help – and the UK’s Disasters Emergency Committee has launched an appeal.

On Thursday, Ms Truss visited Lithuania to show support to Nato allies. There, she said Russia’s economy must be “crippled” to stop it from funding Mr Putin’s war and all Russian banks should be banned from using Swift, an international payment system.

She also said there was “nowhere for any of Putin’s cronies to hide”. Shortly after, the Foreign Office announced sanctions on two more Russian oligarchs – Alisher Usmanov, a billionaire whose company previously had links with Arsenal football club – and Igor Shuvalov, a former deputy prime minister to Mr Putin.

Their assets will be frozen and they will be banned from travelling to the UK. British citizens and businesses will not be allowed to deal with them.

The UK has been accused of being slower than its European neighbours and facing legal hold-ups preventing sanctions on Russian oligarchs – claims rejected by Downing Street.