Ukraine war: UK will boost lethal and non-lethal aid – minister

The UK will increase “lethal and non-lethal aid” to Ukraine in the face of the ongoing Russian military attack, the defense secretary said.

Ben Wallace said he would give more details on what the UK and others could do in a statement to MPs on Wednesday.

It will cover gear for those fighting Russia and also aid for those affected by the invasion.

But he dismissed calls for a no-fly zone over Ukraine, saying it would not stop Russian artillery or missiles.

Ukraine has accused Russia of preventing safe civilian evacuations while Vladimir Putin’s forces continue shelling cities.

Asked if the UK would back Poland if it decided to deliver jets to Ukraine, he told BBC Breakfast there was still an ongoing “debate” about whether Poland would do so, given the Russian “retaliation.” ‘ might be confronted.

But Mr Wallace said that while the UK cannot deliver jets directly to Ukraine, it will support Poland in any decision it makes.

Britain has already pledged a total of £400m in aid to Ukraine, provided military defense equipment and imposed sanctions on Russian banks, companies and individuals.

As Russia’s attack on Ukraine enters its 13th day, Mr Wallace said his forces were becoming “more desperate” and “doubling down on their brutality”.

Despite a suggestion from Moscow to create safe escape routes for civilians, Russian forces have continued to shell major cities.

Mariupol, Volnovakha, Sumy and Kharkiv spent another day under heavy attacks that prevented the evacuation of civilians, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said.

Mr Wallace told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that Mr Putin is a “spent force in the world” and “seems to have no limits to the humanitarian grief and murder he can inflict on a country”.

Asked how the war might end, he said one scenario could be that the Russian army is “so stuck and defeated” that it “turns itself around and blames the generals and then grinds to a halt.”

He said a second possibility could arise if Russia would impose “its full will” in trying to break the people of Ukraine because he believed Mr Putin would “not break the people of Ukraine”.

He added: “Putin’s cost is not only in the invasion, but in the decades of occupation, which I don’t think he can sustain.”

Faced with criticism of the UK visa system for Ukrainian refugees, Mr Wallace said Britain could and would do more and ensure visa processing was expedited.