HUMZA Yousaf has set out Scotland’s “steadfast support” for Ukraine two years on from Russia’s invasion.
The First Minister was among political and religious leaders attending a service at Edinburgh Castle on Saturday.
Saturday marks two years since the Kremlin launched its attack on Ukraine, starting the biggest incursion in a European country since the Second World War.
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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said “tyranny will never triumph” as President Volodymyr Zelensky’s troops defend the country against an emboldened Russia.
Sunak said the UK is “going further in our support”, and Britain is prepared to do “whatever it takes, for as long as it takes”.
In Scotland, Yousaf delivered a reading and laid a wreath alongside Andrii Kuslii, of the consulate of Ukraine, in Edinburgh.
The service was also attended by Ukrainian citizens living in Scotland and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Rev Sally Foster-Fulton.
Speaking ahead of the service, the First Minister said: “On the second anniversary of (Russian President) Vladimir Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine, I want to make it clear that the people of Scotland remain steadfast in support of the country and its brave citizens.
“Ukrainians are fighting for freedom, the rule of law, and the right of countries across Europe to co-exist in peace and security.
“As we mourn the sacrifices of the Ukrainian people, we also look ahead positively, hoping for a day soon when Ukraine can live in peace as a free, sovereign European nation.”
Foster-Fulton said: “Lives have been torn apart due to unprovoked Russian aggression and we continue to stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and all innocent people who suffer because of this aggression.”
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Sunak, who visited Kyiv last month to sign a new security agreement and announce an increase in military funding for the country, said on Friday: “When (Russian President Vladimir) Putin launched his illegal invasion two years ago, the free world was united in its response.
“We stood together behind Ukraine. And on this grim anniversary, we must renew our determination."
UK Labour leader Keir Starmer, who hopes to enter Number 10 after the general election this year, said Britain would always support Ukraine “no matter who is in power in this country” and said Putin’s “cowardice and barbarity” will not prevail.
Starmer said: “The resistance of the Ukrainian people has inspired and humbled the world. The UK and our allies will stand in solidarity with them until their day of victory.
“We will not waver. We will not abandon them. We will not be divided in the face of tyranny or oppression."
Elsewhere, Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said that support for Ukraine "must not waver" and Putin should not be allowed to win.
“Two years on from Vladimir Putin’s barbaric invasion, we continue to stand with all of the people of Ukraine," he said.
“The strength Ukrainians have shown since has been extraordinary and I am proud that Scotland and the UK have welcomed so many brave individuals fleeing their homeland into our communities.
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“As we mark the second anniversary today, my thoughts are with all those both in Ukraine and across the world who have been impacted by the conflict, and hope that, once again, war in Europe can be consigned to history.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “Two years on, there should be no let-up in British resolve.
“It is not an act of charity to supply Ukraine with the tools it needs to defeat Putin but one of self-interest. If the Russian dictator is not defeated on the battlefield in Ukraine, we will eventually have to face him again elsewhere.”
Ukrainian forces withdrew from the strategic eastern city of Avdiivka at the weekend, where they had battled a fierce Russian assault for four months despite being heavily outnumbered and outgunned.
Kyiv has kept up strikes behind the 930-mile front line but moved to a defensive posture amid critical shortages on the battlefield.
The British government has hit Russia with 50 new sanctions aimed at those supplying Russia’s military with munitions such as rocket launch systems, missiles and explosives. The measures also target key sources of Russian revenue in metals, diamonds and energy trading.
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