Rishi Sunak will urge allies to give Ukraine more weapons as world leaders meet to plot Putin’s defeat
RISHI Sunak will today urge allies to give Ukraine more weapons as world leaders meet to plot the defeat of Vladimir Putin.
The PM is to tell Western leaders at a military conference “now is the moment to double down on military support” for President Zelensky.
He will point to the £2.3billion of UK backing, topped only by the US, including battle tanks and rockets.
It comes amid fears Putin plans an offensive to mark the first anniversary of the Russian invasion on Friday.
Calling on fellow leaders in Munich to increase weapons shipments, Mr Sunak will say: “When Putin started this war, he gambled that our resolve would falter.
"Even now he is betting we will lose our nerve.
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"But we proved him wrong then, and we will prove him wrong now.”
The PM has resisted calls to send British military planes but Ukrainian pilots are to train in the UK from spring.
Instead Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is investigating the possibility of supplying our Typhoon jets in the future.
Ukrainian pilots will begin training in the UK from spring.
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In his speech Mr Sunak will also advocate a Nato charter to “protect Ukraine from future Russian aggression”.
He will say: “We need to do more to boost Ukraine’s long-term security.
“We must give them the advanced, NATO-standard capabilities that they need for the future.
“And we must demonstrate that we’ll remain by their side, willing and able to help them defend their country again and again.”
At the conference Mr Sunak will meet allies including US Vice President Kamala Harris.
And he will hit out: “What is at stake in this war is even greater than the security and sovereignty of one nation.
“It’s about the security and sovereignty of every nation.
“Because Russia’s invasion, its abhorrent war crimes and irresponsible nuclear rhetoric are symptomatic of a broader threat to everything we believe in.”