NATO allies must make it their “absolute priority” to end the conflict in Ukraine and expel Russian soldiers or face a “far less secure Europe,” according to the foreign secretary.
The United Kingdom has recently declared it will deliver an additional £1 billion in military aid to Ukraine. Boris Johnson asserts that British assistance is “transforming Ukraine’s defenses.”
Liz Truss condemned Vladimir Putin as an “appalling dictator” who was “waging a war that was neither lawful nor justifiable in any way”.
She stated, “I’ve never met Vladimir Putin, therefore I don’t know why he’s doing this terrible war.”
All I know is that we must make ending this war and expelling Vladimir Putin and the Russian military from Ukraine our top priority.
Ms. Truss spoke with Kay Burley from Madrid, where the leaders of the 30 NATO nations are negotiating a new plan for the alliance in reaction to the invasion of Ukraine.
The statements of the foreign secretary came as the Ukrainian defense minister, Oleksandr Reznikov, told that the Third World War “had already begun.
Meanwhile, the British government has stated it will contribute an additional £1 billion in military aid to Ukraine. It takes the total UK military contribution since the start of the conflict to £2.3 billion, more than any other country outside the United States.
According to the prime minister, the additional funds will be allocated to capabilities such as advanced air defense systems, unmanned aerial vehicles, innovative new electronic warfare technology, and hundreds of pieces of essential equipment for Ukrainian soldiers.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the United Kingdom for the additional funds via social media, writing, “I am grateful to the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson for granting an additional £1 billion to Ukraine for security support.
“Great Britain is our true ally and strategic partner. We applaud the leadership’s sustained support for Ukraine’s defense against Russian aggression.”
Defense budget ‘must be suitable for purpose’
At home, however, there is an ongoing discussion regarding whether defense spending should be increased because of the conflict.
The United Kingdom now spends approximately 2 percent of its gross domestic product on defense, matching the goal established by NATO for its members. However, the defense secretary has encouraged the prime minister to raise expenditure on the armed forces in reaction to the war.
Ms. Truss declined to state whether or not she concurs with Mr. Wallace’s request, but stated that the budget must be “fit for purpose.”
She told, “I think that we need to ensure that the entire Western alliance is spending more on defense and assisting our eastern partners.”
“I will not get into the specifics of the negotiations surrounding the spending review.
“I believe that it is vital that we ensure that our defense budget is enough and capable of addressing current threats like cyber warfare and space-related problems.”
When asked about government intentions to reduce the size of the armed forces, she responded, “I support our defense measures.”
“But what I’m arguing is that we must continue to adapt them when new and different dangers emerge. I don’t believe any of us anticipated this type of conflict on European soil in our lives.”
Putin showed “entirely incorrect”
Ms. Truss also refuted a parliamentary committee’s complaint that the government was too slow to impose penalties on Russian oligarchs.
“We acted swiftly,” she stated. Furthermore, we have sanctioned more persons and organizations than any other country.
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The Prime Minister stated on Wednesday that Mr. Putin had been shown “absolutely wrong” over the strength of NATO, which is slated to expand to include Sweden and Finland after they broke decades of neutrality out of worry for Russia.
It came as alliance members decided to increase the number of troops on high readiness from 40,000 to 300,000 next year.
This will make available to NATO the “majority” of the United Kingdom’s naval forces, including one of its aircraft carriers and its support vessels, as well as additional air squadrons and land brigade-sized groups.
