Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is “way off timetable” with the the indiscriminate shelling of civilians showing the military becoming increasingly “desperate”, Ben Wallace has claimed.
Insisting the Kremlin had “built itself a trap” by waging a war and uniting the international community against Russia, Mr Wallace stressed the country’s military were facing “real logistic problems”.
“It’s not going particularly well for the Russians — it’s day 13. Way off their timetable,” the defence secretary told Sky News in the latest update on the situation.
“There were reports overnight of Ukrainian special forces destroying over 20 helicopters on the ground and I think we can see the Russians having real logistic problems”.
He added: “That affects morale. They’re getting more desperate and we can see them getting more desperate as they are shelling more and more innocent people.”
“This goes right to the heart of the challenge for Russia, which is Russia has built itself a trap. It’s sent itself in with the international community united against them and we see the devastation they are leaving behind.”
The defence secretary also revealed the Ministry of Defence (MoD) would offer to support the Home Office process visas for Ukrainian refugees amid intense criticism over the government’s progress.
In an update last night, the Home Office said 8,900 applications had been submitted, with just 300 visas given the green light so far.
“We’ve said over 200,000 people can come here,” the cabinet minister insisted.“The question really relies on how many checks we do once people reach a safe space”
He added: “I will be offering to the Home Office assistance from the MoD in the same way we did in Op Pitting [Afghanistan evacuation] to increase the processing time to help those people”.
Speaking on Tuesday, the cabinet minister also said he would support Poland whether or not it decided to donate MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine. The US has urged Poland to supply the Soviet-era planes, offering to provide replacement US jets instead.
Mr Wallace said: “Poland will understand that the choices it makes will not only directly help Ukraine, which is a good thing, but also may bring them into direct line of fire from countries such as Russia or Belarus.
“They will have to calibrate that. That's a really big responsibility on the shoulders of the President of Poland and, indeed, defence minister.
“So, it's not for me to second-guess their choice. But it is for me as a fellow Nato member to say I will stand by Poland.”
