“Keep calm and carry on” and “RIP Queen Elizabeth II” were written on the side of two 105mm shells that fire high explosives, a photo shared on Twitter by a Ukrainian artilleryman showed. “The sincere gratitude and respect of the Ukrainian artillery men to the remarkable leader of a great nation,” wrote Twitter user Vidbiy Pozhyznennoi Trevogy, which stands for Cancel Life Alert. While 16,000 artillery rounds were part of the UK’s £2.3bn military support for the country, Ukrainian gratitude extends far beyond guns, with soldiers, politicians and civilians offering their condolences on Friday for the late queen , whose understated support the Ukrainian people widely appreciated. In March, the late queen showed that support by making a “generous donation” to a humanitarian appeal for Ukraine, according to the Disasters Emergency Committee, an umbrella group of UK charities. Later that month, a bouquet of blue and yellow flowers matching the Ukrainian national colors featured prominently in photos of the late queen welcoming Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at Windsor Castle.
