Rishi Sunak vowed on Tuesday that Britain is “in it for the long haul” to defeat Vladimir Putin’s war as Ukrainian forces were clawing back territory, at times metre by metre.
He gave the whole-hearted support as he flew to a Nato summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, where world leaders were discussing more military support for Kyiv, Ukraine joining the military alliance and how it would bolster its defences against future threats.
Asked if the UK would continue to support Ukraine even if the war dragged on for another decade, Mr Sunak said: “We are with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”
The PM insisted allies must send a “strong deterrent message to the Russians” by strengthening support for Ukraine. He told reporters: “What Putin needs to understand is there is no point in waiting out the West, and not just the West but the alliance that has formed to support Ukraine. Everyone is in it for the long haul and any thought he had that this would be over quickly has already been proved to be false.”
Opening the summit, Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg promised that Ukraine would get a “positive and strong message” on its path to membership of the alliance, as well as more military aid.
But divisions among Nato’s 31 members mean there will not be a straightforward invitation for Ukraine to join. US national security adviser Jake Sullivan also said the gathering would send a “positive signal” about Kyiv’s membership bid, though America appears less keen on a fast track approach, with Britain voicing more support for such a path. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, due to meet Joe Biden at the Vilnius gathering, has been pressing Nato for a clear path for Ukraine to join once the war is over.
As negotiators were seeking to thrash out a compromise agreement, diplomats were upbeat about a final agreement. The summit was also set to approve Nato’s first comprehensive plans since the end of the Cold War to defend against any attack from Russia.
Ukrainian forces were reported to be gradually seizing back more territory, even if the counter-offensive was going slower than expected. The Washington-based think tank, the Institute for the Study of War, said Kyiv troops had recaptured nearly as much land in five weeks that it took Putin’s army six months to seize.
Britain has led the way in arming Ukraine, first with anti-tank weapons, then Challenger II tanks, and more recently Storm Shadow long range missiles. Other countries have followed the UK’s lead, and French president Emmanuel Macron announced today that France will start supplying long-range missiles to Ukraine, with Germany also announcing £600 million more of military support for Kyiv.
While Nato members agree Kyiv cannot join during the war, they have disagreed over how quickly it could happen afterwards and under what conditions.
Nato members in Eastern Europe have backed Kyiv’s stance, arguing that bringing Ukraine under the alliance’s collective security umbrella is the best way to deter Russia from attacking again. Countries such as the United States and Germany have been more cautious, wary of any move that they fear could draw Nato into a direct conflict with Russia and potentially spark a global war.
Mr Stoltenberg said Ukraine could now skip a Membership Action Plan (MAP) — a process for meeting political, economic and military goals before becoming a Nato member — which could fast track the process.
Meanwhile, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan agreed late on Monday night to forward Sweden’s bid to join to his parliament for ratification, appearing to end months of opposition that strained the bloc.
