Rishi Sunak said it was time for the West to double down on its military support for Ukraine as “the security and sovereignty of every nation” depended on the outcome of the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Speaking to world leaders at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Mr. Sunak urged British allies to provide Ukraine with “more artillery, armor and air defense.”
“The time has come to double our military support. When Putin started this war, he bet that our resolve would waver. Even now he is betting that we will lose heart, but we proved him wrong then, and we will prove him wrong now,” he said.
Mr Sunak raised the possibility that the UK would send planes to Ukraine following a request from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
He said there were “complications” with sending some types of aircraft to Ukraine, but the UK is training Ukrainians to use standard NATO aircraft.
“The UK is ready to help any country provide aircraft for use in Ukraine today, but we also need to educate Ukrainian pilots on the use of state-of-the-art aircraft, and that is what the UK is doing. So that Ukraine can protect its security in the long term,” he said.
Sunak said that along with the supply of arms, the UK and its allies must “restore the international order on which our collective security depends.”
He said Russia should be brought before the International Criminal Court for “disgustingly committed war crimes” and should also be forced to rebuild Ukraine.
Mr. Sunak said a new framework was also needed to ensure Ukraine’s long-term security, as “the post-Cold War treaties and agreements in this Eastern European country have failed.”
His speech was reminiscent of an earlier speech by US Vice President Kamala Harris, who said Putin was “profoundly mistaken” in believing he could “wait for us.”
In addition to Ukraine, Mr Sunak was also asked about the Northern Ireland Protocol amid rumors that the UK and the EU are about to announce a new deal that could end the political deadlock in Northern Ireland.
However, Mr. Sunak denied the rumors, saying that no deal had yet been reached with the EU.