The British Foreign Secretary David Lammy has issued a warning to Western allies that it is now a “critical time” for Ukraine and they must show “fortitude” to bolster Kyiv’s defence by using Western long-range missiles against Russia.
Allies must show “guts” and “nerve” in their support for Ukraine as being allowed to use Storm Shadow and SCALP cruise missiles are “critical” fog the success of Kyiv winning Vladimir Putin’s war.
Speaking at a Labour Party fringe event Lammy was with Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK, Valerii Zaluzhnyi said, “This is a critical time for nerve and for guts and for patience and for fortitude on behalf of allies who stand with Ukraine.
“I am not going to, as Foreign Secretary, of course, comment on operational detail, because that can only aid Putin.
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“But there is a very real-time discussion across allies about how we can support Ukraine as we head into the winter.”
The West are afraid of an escalation with Russia as Putin has warned the move could put NATO at full-scale war with Russia.
Lammy said, “I think we have to recognise Putin’s bullying bluster and rhetoric for what it is: a sort of deliberate psychological warfare that is usually indicative of his own fears about losing this ridiculous and horrendous bloody escapade of his. He tends to throw dust up in the eyes.”
He added, “Now, look, there is a challenge. The challenge is that obviously in a democracy with a free press that, of course, underpins our democracy, and is important in our democracy, there is a sort of public debate and discussion, and sometimes that discussion becomes quite detailed in terms of tactics and how you prosecute a war in a way that the tactics of Russia, Iran and North Korea are not public.
“That relies on the intelligence capability of us and our Five Eyes partners particularly, in sometimes revealing what we know what is happening. So, there is this imbalance between democracies where obviously there is a healthy discussion, and autocracies… and we’ve just got to get that balance right.
“I have to err on the side of not going into too much detail about how we are assisting Ukraine and are going to continue assisting Ukraine.”
Zaluzhnyi said, “Lifting restrictions on use of weapons against military targets in Russia is critical. This would help protect civilians from Russian missiles and … bombs.
“This winter in Ukraine will be the most difficult. As we know, I believe in the resilience of the Ukrainian people, but without additional help the price will be very, very high.”
