LONDON (AP) – Britain’s top diplomat on Wednesday urged western allies to send tanks, warplanes and other heavy weapons to Ukraine, saying fears of an escalation of the war were misplaced and “inaction would be the greatest provocation.” “.
Secretary of State Liz Truss said “this is a time of courage, not caution” among nations helping Ukraine fight Russian invasion.
“Heavy weapons, tanks, planes – we’re digging deep in our stockpiles, ramping up production. We must do all of this,” Truss said during an annual foreign policy speech at Mansion House, the residence of the Lord Mayor of London.
NATO countries have supplied Ukraine with military weapons and equipment, including missiles and armored vehicles. But they were reluctant to send fighter jets – despite pleas from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy – for fear of an escalation. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused NATO of waging a proxy war against Russia.
Western officials deny this, saying the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is taking place because of Russia’s illegal invasion of its neighbor.
Britain has sent 450 million pounds ($565 million) in military aid to Ukraine, including thousands of missiles. But despite Truss’s call for jets, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman Max Blain said there were “no plans” for the UK to send planes. He didn’t rule out Britain sending planes to another country like Poland, which would then give its own jets to Ukraine, but said there were “no concrete plans” to do so.
Truss said Russia’s attack on Ukraine must be a wake-up call to international institutions that have failed to prevent the invasion.
“Architecture designed to guarantee peace and prosperity has failed in Ukraine,” Truss said. “The economic and security structures developed after World War II and then the Cold War are so warped that they have enabled aggression rather than contained it.”
Truss called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “desperate rogue operator” who is disrupting the global order and outsmarting international institutions.
“Russia is capable of blocking any effective action in the UN Security Council,” where it has veto power as a permanent member, she said, adding that the G20 club of wealthy and emerging nations “meanwhile are not functioning as an effective economic body.” Russia can stay at the table.”
In response, Truss called for a new focus on “military strength, economic security, and deeper global alliances” among “free nations.”
After years of falling military spending in many countries, including the UK, she said NATO’s target for countries to spend 2% of GDP on defense should be “a floor, not a ceiling”.
Truss also called for tougher economic sanctions against Russia, saying the West must halt Russian oil and gas imports “once and for all.” That would be easier for Britain than for many other European nations.
“If Putin succeeds, there will be untold misery across Europe and terrible consequences worldwide,” she said. “We would never feel safe again. So we need to be prepared for the long term and redouble our support for Ukraine.”
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