Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has urged world leaders to provide Ukraine with advanced, Nato-standard weaponry in order to secure its long-term future. At the Munich Security Conference, Mr Sunak said allies must “double down” on military support for the country. Throughout the gathering, Ukraine’s allies reiterated the need to defend the country from Russia’s aggression.
The UK’s Prime Minister said the summit was an opportunity to increase support to Ukraine so they can “defeat Russian aggression”. He called for a new Nato charter to provide assurances of long-term support and for a new framework for Ukraine’s security. Mr Sunak also met German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and both agreed on the need to sustain international support for Ukraine.
The UK has already spent £2.3bn on military assistance, making the country the second biggest donor behind the US. The government has said it plans to match this spending again this year. Military equipment provided by the UK so far includes tanks, air defence systems and artillery. However, Kyiv has become increasingly frustrated by the time Western weapons have taken to arrive. Deliveries of battle tanks – promised last month by countries including Germany, the US and the UK – are still thought to be weeks away from arriving on the battlefield.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has visited the UK, as well as Paris and Brussels, where he appealed for European leaders to supply his country with modern fighter jets. The UK is to start training Ukrainian forces to fly Nato-standard jets and Mr Sunak has said “nothing is off the table”. But Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said there will be no immediate transfer of UK fighter jets to Ukraine. He said it could take months to train pilots and the UK was instead focused on using alternative provision of air cover to Ukraine. Some Nato member countries are also worried that giving jets to Ukraine would be viewed as escalating the war, risking direct confrontation between the Western military alliance and Russia.
At the Munich Security Conference, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak urged world leaders to provide Ukraine with advanced, Nato-standard weaponry in order to secure its long-term future. He called for a new Nato charter to provide assurances of long-term support and for a new framework for Ukraine’s security. The UK has already spent £2.3bn on military assistance, making it the second biggest donor behind the US. This includes tanks, air defence systems and artillery, but Kyiv has become increasingly frustrated by the time Western weapons have taken to arrive.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has appealed for European leaders to supply his country with modern fighter jets. The UK is training Ukrainian forces to fly Nato-standard jets and Mr Sunak has said “nothing is off the table”. However, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said there will be no immediate transfer of UK fighter jets to Ukraine due to concerns that it could escalate the war and risk direct confrontation between the Western military alliance and Russia. Mr Sunak also met German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and both agreed on the need to sustain international support for Ukraine.