Shortly after 4 o’ clock this morning I spoke to president Zelenskyy of Ukraine to offer the continued support of the UKbecause our worst fears have now come true and all our warnings have proved tragically accuratePresident Putin of Russia has unleashed war in our European continent. He has attacked a friendly country without any provocation and without any credible excuseInnumerable missiles and bombs have been raining down on an entirely innocent populationA vast invasion is underway by land by sea and by air.And this is not in the infamous phrase some faraway country of which we know littleWe have Ukrainian friends in this country; neighbours, co-workersUkraine is a country that for decades has enjoyed freedom and democracy and the right to choose its own destinyWe – and the world – cannot allow that freedom just to be snuffed out. We cannot and will not just look away.It is because we have been so alarmed in recent months at the Russian intimidation that the UK became one of the first countries in Europe to send defensive weaponry to help the UkrainiansOther allies have now done the same and we will do what more we can in the days aheadToday in concert with our allies we will agree a massive package of economic sanctions designed in time to hobble the Russian economyAnd to that end we must also collectively cease the dependence on Russian oil and gas that for too long has given Putin his grip on western politicsOur mission is clearDiplomatically, politically, economically – and eventually, militarily – this hideous and barbaric venture of Vladimir Putin must end in failureAnd so I say to the people of Russia, whose president has just authorised a tidal wave of violence against a fellow Slavic peopleThe parents of Russian soldiers who will lose their lives.I cannot believe this is being done in your name or that you really want the pariah status it will bring to the Putin regimeand I say to the Ukrainians in this moment of agonywe are with you we are praying for you and your familiesand we are on your sideAnd if the months ahead are grim, and the flame of freedom burns lowI know that it will blaze bright again in Ukrainebecause for all his bombs and tanks and missiles I don’t believe that the Russian dictator will ever subdue the national feeling of the Ukrainians and their passionate belief that their country should be freeand I say to the British people and all who have heard the threats from Putin against those who stand with Ukrainewe will of course do everything to keep our country safeWe are joined in our outrage by friends and allies around the worldWe will work with them – for however long it takes – to ensure that the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine is restoredbecause this act of wanton and reckless aggression is an attack not just on UkraineIt is an attack on democracy and freedom in East Europe and around the worldThis crisis is about the right of a free, sovereign independent European people to choose their own futureand that is a right that the UK will always defend.Updates to this page