UK will support Ukraine until war is won, foreign minister to say

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has the "strategic endurance" to stand by Ukraine until the war with Russia is won, British foreign minister James Cleverly will say on Tuesday.

Britain has been one of Kyiv's most vocal international backers sending thousands of anti-tank weapons, hundreds of missiles and armoured fighting vehicles as well as training Ukrainian soldiers.

In a speech to the ruling Conservative Party conference, Cleverly will say that the British were not "commentators" on world events but "players on the pitch" , believing that aggressors could not invade their neighbours with impunity.

"This is why we stand shoulder to shoulder with those brave Ukrainians defending their homeland. And Britain has the strategic endurance to see them through to victory," Cleverly will say according to extracts of his speech released by the Conservatives.

"We will support them until this war is won. We will support them until their sovereignty is restored. We will never recognise the annexation of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, or Crimea.

"They are Ukraine. And when Ukraine has won this war then we will support them as they rebuild their homes, their economy, and their society."

(Reporting by Michael Holden; editing by Jonathan Oatis)