James Cleverly tells allies ‘this is the time’ to bring the Ukraine war to an end while Russia is on ‘the back foot’ – as Foreign Secretary piles pressure on Western nations to copy Britain with ‘decisive’ supply of tanks
- James Cleverly tells Western allies ‘this is the time’ to bring Ukraine war to an end
- Foreign Secretary urges other nations to ‘intensify’ their level of support for Kyiv
- He is on a two-day trip to US and Canada after UK announced it will send tanks
James Cleverly has told Britain’s allies ‘this is the time’ to bring the Ukraine war to an end as the Foreign Secretary urged other nations to ‘intensify’ their support for Kyiv.
The Foreign Secretary predicted the supply of battle tanks to Ukraine would be ‘decisive’ as called on other countries to follow Britain’s lead.
At the weekend, it was confirmed the UK would send a squadron of 14 Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine.
This has piled pressure on Berlin to allow the export of German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.
Other nations with such tanks in their armoury – such as Poland – are currently unable to send them to Ukraine without Germany’s approval.
Speaking in Washington DC today, Mr Cleverly demanded that Western allies ‘give the Ukrainians the tools they need to get the job done’.
He noted how Russia was ‘on the back foot’ following recent military reverses in Ukraine and claimed Vladimir Putin was attempting to ‘drag this conflict out’.
James Cleverly predicted the supply of tanks to Ukraine would be ‘decisive’ as called on other countries to follow Britain’s lead
The Foreign Secretary demanded that Western allies ‘give the Ukrainians the tools they need to get the job done’
At the weekend, it was confirmed the UK would send Challenger 2 tanks (pictured above) to Ukraine
Appearing at an event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies thinktank, the Foreign Secretary was asked about the potential for a Russian offensive in Ukraine this spring.
‘If you listen to what Putin says… he keeps making reference to Russia’s military history, to the poetic narrative of Russia’s military past,’ he said.
‘He talks about the stoicism of the Russians, he talks about their ability to endure privations for longer, they can endure hardship for longer.
‘He’s clearly making the case that he wants to drag this conflict out, he wants to make it a slow, attritional conflict, he wants to keep feeding young men and women into the meat grinder.
‘His lack of respect for human life is shocking. But he’s told us that’s what he wants to do.
‘And, if that’s what he wants to do, we should want to do the opposite.’
Mr Cleverly said Mr Putin was currently having to keep up his invasion of Ukraine with a dwindling supply of weaponry.
‘Until recently, his attacks on civilian infrastructure have been done with cruise missiles,’ he added.
‘He’s now using ballistic missiles to do the same thing – much, much, much more expensive.
‘He’s doing it clearly because he’s running low on other munitions.
‘So this is the time, if we want to bring this to a successful conclusion – and, of course, we should and we do – we should look to bring it to a conclusion quickly.
‘The conclusion has to be a Ukrainian victory and that dictates, therefore, that we need to intensify our support at this point in time, while Russia has been on the back foot, to give the Ukrainians the tools they need to get the job done.’
As part of his two-day trip to the US and Canada, Mr Cleverly is due to meet with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken later on Tuesday for talks over what more the UK, America and Canada can do to support Ukraine.
And the Foreign Secretary made clear – following Britain’s announcement of the supply of Challenger 2 tanks – that further military hardware would be at the top of his wishlist.
‘We believe the provision of NATO-standard main battle tanks will be decisive in this and so we encourage others to do so,’ the Foreign Secretary said.
Source: Read Full Article
