Kit Malthouse said the UK was determined to do all it could to help bring to justice those responsible for the “truly heinous crimes” that took place during the invasion. “While this is going on, we can take action at home around the sanctions we can impose on individuals, including fighters, leading generals and others involved, to signal recognition of their role in this horrific, formidable attack on a free democratic country. He told Sky News on Sophy Ridge on Sunday. “We support the conflict as much as possible to support the Ukrainians in their struggle, we will do the same to bring to justice those who have committed some really horrible crimes during this terrible time.” During a visit to the Ukrainian capital on Saturday, Boris Johnson said that Vladimir Putin had “permanently tarnished his reputation” through the actions of his forces. Appearing on the side of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the prime minister praised the courage of Ukrainian forces and promised that the West would send military equipment to ensure that Russia could never invade its neighbor again. The British Ministry of Defense said that the retreating Russian troops had left behind evidence of “disproportionate targeting of non-combatants” as they withdrew from the area around Kyiv. In an assessment released on Saturday night, he said this included “the presence of mass graves, the deadly use of hostages as human shields and the extraction of political infrastructure”. Ukraine’s attorney general Iryna Venediktova said the bodies of 1,222 people had been found in the area around Kyiv alone. “Of course, what we have seen on the ground in all parts of Ukraine is war crimes, crimes against humanity and we are doing everything we can to fix it,” he told Sky News. Following Johnson’s visit to Kyiv, Downing Street announced that the United Kingdom would send 120 armored vehicles and new anti-ship missile systems in addition to the latest 100 100 million military support package announced last week. Ukrainians later posted videos of Johnson and Zelensky walking the streets of the city largely, accompanied by heavily armed Ukrainian soldiers. “I think it symbolized the support and leadership we are trying to show the world as we pursue a victory for Ukraine,” Malthouse said. The UK’s support was warmly welcomed by the Ukrainian president, who urged other Western allies to follow suit as Russian forces prepare for a new offensive in the eastern Donbass region, which is partly controlled by separatist separatists. In a late-night video, Zelensky said that Russia’s war goal “was not intended to be limited to Ukraine” and that “the whole European plan is a goal.” “That is why it is not just a moral duty of all democracies, of all the powers of Europe, to support Ukraine’s desire for peace,” he said. “This is, in fact, a defense strategy for any civilized state.” In its latest intelligence assessment, the Foreign Ministry said that in response to the growing casualties, Russia was trying to strengthen its forces by recalling troops that had been fired since 2012. He said Russia was also trying to “create more fighting force” by recruiting the Transnistrian, an unrecognized breakaway region of Moldova that borders Ukraine.
