Speaking on a visit to Warsaw, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said Poland – which is taking the brunt of refugees fleeing Ukraine after the country’s invasion by Russia – is a “very old ally”.
He told a news conference: “It is very right that Britain stands by Poland as Poland carries much of the burden of the consequence of this war and stands tall and brave to stand up to the threats from Russia.”
The announcement comes after NATO pledged to send more troops to defend its eastern flank, and just after Russian missiles struck a military base in Yavoriv, Ukraine, just a few miles from the border with Poland.
Downing Street said the deployment of the Sky Sabre system would be “supporting the Polish armed forces at the request of the Polish government”.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s official spokesperson said: “It is, as ever, a purely defensive capability which we are providing on a bilateral basis to Poland.
“It will remain under UK control at all times.”
He said it is a “short-term deployment”.
The increased support comes as Foreign Office minister James Cleverly said a Russian air strike on Ukrainians sheltering in a theatre “looks to be specific targeting” of a civilian building and a “self-evident breach of international law”.
Ukrainian authorities are still attempting to determine the fate of hundreds of civilians who had bunkered down in the theatre in Mariupol after images showed that an entire section of the three-storey building had collapsed after the strike on Wednesday evening.
Several hundred people had taken refuge in the building to seek safety from Moscow’s three-week siege of the port city, with the pavements outside the venue marked with huge white letters spelling out “children” in Russian, according to images released by the Maxar space technology company.
Mr Cleverly said the attack appeared to be a “breach” of internationally-agreed armed conflict rules and called for evidence to be documented of the assault to put together a war crime case.
The Russian defence ministry has denied bombing the theatre in Mariupol.
Britain is one of six nations calling for a United Nations Security Council meeting on Ukraine on Thursday, ahead of an expected Friday vote on a resolution demanding protection for Ukrainian civilians “in vulnerable situations”.
“Russia is committing war crimes and targeting civilians,” the UK’s UN mission tweeted, announcing its joint plea alongside the US, France and others.
It comes amid suggestions that peace talks are beginning to show signs of progress.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said after a meeting on Tuesday that a neutral military status for Ukraine is being “seriously discussed” by the two sides, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia’s demands for ending the war are becoming “more realistic”.
But Mr Cleverly said any peace deal with Russia must be “one the Ukrainians genuinely believe in”.
As part of the resolution discussions, Russia has demanded that NATO pledges never to admit Ukraine to the alliance or station forces there.
In its stipulations, Ukraine has pushed for a ceasefire, the withdrawal of Russian troops and security guarantees for Ukraine from several countries.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: “As far as talks are concerned, obviously the Ukrainian people and president will decide for themselves how they take those forward but it is very important that in principle we can’t allow Russian aggression to triumph in any manner or form.”
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace
UK PARLIAMENT/JESSICA TAYLOR
A firefighter works at a site of a fire, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Kharkiv, Ukraine March 16, 2022. REUTERS/Oleksandr Lapshyn
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