Defence Secretary Ben Wallace
(Picture: PA Wire)Defence Secretary Ben Wallace admitted on Wednesday the West needs to up its production of ammunition for Ukraine as it prepares to face a spring onslaught from Vladimir Putin’s forces.
The admission came as Mr Wallace stepped up pressure on Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to increase Britain’s defence spending in next month’s Spring Budget to protect Britain from the “likes of Russia”.
But, speaking on Wednesday ahead of the second day of meetings of Nato defence ministers in Brussels, he dismissed speculation that he was prepared to resign amid reports at the weekend that he is pressing Mr Hunt to increase defence spending by between £8 billion and £11 billion over the next two years.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky is pleading for supplies of tanks, long-range artillery, fighter jets and other heavy weapons to be delivered more quickly from Nato countries backing Kyiv’s fight against the Russian invasion.
Ukraine’s armed forces are firing some 6,000 artillery shells a day, far faster than their Western allies can resupply them. Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg warned earlier this week that the West risks running out of supplies.
Asked on Sky News if the UK needed to “ramp up production”, Mr Wallace said: “You’re right about needing to ramp up production. The invasion of Ukraine caught most of the Nato members out insofar as our ammunition stocks over the decades had been hollowed out.
“Ukraine uses huge amounts of ammunition to defend itself... because the Russian or the Soviet way of fighting is very ammunition heavy.”
On the UK’s defence budget, Mr Wallace conceded “it’s always an uphill battle” with the Treasury when it comes to securing money for a Government department.
He said he has not hidden the fact the Ministry of Defence suffers “from inflation pressures”, adding: “I am not going to conduct the negotiations in public. But obviously, we’re going to try and make our way through this so that between now and the next spending review — which is in two years time — we can insulate defence from many of those pressures.”
Asked if he would quit if he didn’t secure the right settlement for the MoD, he replied: “I think first and foremost, the most important thing is that I present a good case to the Chancellor, a good case to the Prime Minister.”
He added: “Then, we will see, you know, what I get at the end. But this is not about resigning or anything else: it’s about delivering defence to meet the threat.”
With Ukraine demanding the West supplies Kyiv with fighter jets, Mr Wallace insisted: “I don’t think it’s going to be in the next few months or even years that we are going to necessarily hand over fighter jets because they are very different weapons systems to, you know, hand-held anti-tank missiles.”
Meanwhile, a British man killed in Ukraine has been named by family and friends as Jonathan Shenkin, from Glasgow.
He is one of eight British men known to have died in Ukraine since the Russian invasion began last year.
