UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy stressed the urgency for the United States and the United Kingdom to supply Ukraine with the weapons it seeks to defeat Russia before a decisive winter battlefront.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Lammy highlighted the next few months as crucial in aiding Ukraine to secure a victorious position.
This comes as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is slated to meet with U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington today, where high-stakes talks are expected to revolve around whether Ukraine should be allowed to deploy Storm Shadow missiles within Russian territory.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Russia and NATO would be at war if Ukraine were permitted to use long-range weapons.
In a televised statement, Putin asserted that such an action would significantly alter the nature of the ongoing conflict, implying that NATO countries, including the US and the EU, would effectively be in combat with Russia.
Responding to Putin’s claim, Starmer underscored that Russia initiated the conflict and has the means to end it.
Currently, Ukraine is restricted to launching missiles with a range of only up to 150 miles within the Russian-controlled Crimea and near the Russian borders.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been advocating for a change in this stance for weeks, calling for a strong resolution on the matter this week.
In an interview conducted in Kyiv, Lammy reiterated the importance of providing Ukraine with the necessary resources to triumph in the conflict, emphasizing that this period is critical to prevent Russia from making gains during the winter.
He mentioned that ballistic missiles would be used against the Ukrainian people in the winter, leading to loss of life.
Starmer, on the other hand, affirmed Ukraine’s right to self-defense, highlighting the UK’s full support for this right and its commitment to providing training capabilities.
