Moscow has warned London that by “pumping” Ukraine with weapons, Britain is undermining European security. The remark came after the British foreign secretary urged allies to provide Ukraine with “heavy weapons, tanks, aeroplanes,” while also bolstering the defense capabilities of Moldova and Georgia.
Speaking to journalists by phone on Thursday, Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the “tendency itself to pump weapons, including heavy weapons, into Ukraine and other countries is something that threatens the continent’s security and provokes instability.”
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss delivered her keynote speech on Wednesday.
She argued against the view that “we shouldn’t provide heavy weapons for fear of provoking something worse,” insisting that “inaction would be the greatest provocation” in the current circumstances.
Truss claimed that the “architecture that was designed to guarantee peace and prosperity has failed Ukraine,” with the “economic and security structures that were developed after the Second World War and the Cold War” having been “bent out of shape.” This, she suggested, requires a “new approach” which “melds hard security and economic security” and contributes to the creation of “stronger global alliances.” The foreign secretary urged “free nations” to be “more assertive and self-confident” and build their strategies on the assumption that “geopolitics is back.”
Truss also proclaimed that the “war in Ukraine is our war,” with Kiev’s victory being a “strategic imperative” for Britain and its allies. She went on to call for “heavy weapons, tanks, aeroplanes” to be provided to Ukraine, adding that “we need to do all of this.”