Boris Johnson has announced an additional £175m in UK aid for Ukraine, bringing the total to almost £400m.
Mr Johnson also said that in the coming days he will set out a new energy supply strategy to explain how the UK will ensure that consumers’ needs are met as prices sky-rocket due to sanctions on Russia and its vast oil and gas stocks.
The announcements came after the prime minister held talks with counterparts Mark Rutte of the Netherlands and Justin Trudeau of Canada at 10 Downing Street.
Mr Rutte cautioned that countries like Netherlands which rely heavily on Russian energy sources would need time gradually to reduce their dependence.
The Dutch PM said: “It is a step by step process and we have to make sure we deleverage our dependency on Russian gas and Russian oil, whilst acknowledging that at the moment the dependency, at least to a certain extent, is still there.
“If you force companies to quit doing business with Russia in that realm, that would have enormous consequences because it would basically undermine supply chains the world over, particularly in Europe, and it would also have an impact on Ukraine itself.
“And therefore, my plea is that we do this diligently and not overnight, making sure that we speed up the programmes all of our countries to decarbonize – to green our economies.”
Mr Johnson agreed that the process would have to be taken “step by step” but said that it needed to be accelerated.
Speaking at a press conference alongside Rutte and Trudeau in Downing Street, Mr Johnson said: “After 12 days, it’s already clear that Putin has made a miscalculation.
“He has under-estimated Ukrainians’ resistance, he has underestimated their leader and he has underestimated the unity of the West…”
