Lammy: West won’t be bullied by Putin over Ukraine missile talks
The West will not be bullied by Vladimir Putin’s threat of all-out war with Nato if Ukraine is given permission to use Western weapons to strike inside Russia, David Lammy has said.
The foreign secretary said talks were continuing with the US and allies about giving Kyiv permission to use UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles to hit Russian air bases and military sites which are being used to launch attacks on Ukraine.
Lammy has been part of intensive UK-US diplomatic talks in Kyiv and Washington in the past week which have so far failed to produce a decision.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly pressed Western leaders for permission to use the weapons they have supplied to hit sites within Russia.
Russian president Putin has warned that allowing long-range strikes “would mean that Nato countries, the United States, and European countries are at war with Russia”.
But Lammy told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme: “Putin said ‘don’t send tanks’. We sent them.
“Putin said ‘don’t send any missiles’. We sent them. Putin threatens every few months to use nuclear weapons. What he should now do is cease his aggression and leave Ukraine.”
Lammy said there was “a lot of bluster” from Mr Putin but “we cannot be blown off course by an imperialist fascist” who “wants to move into countries willy-nilly”.
On the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, he said talks would continue with Sir Keir Starmer, US president Joe Biden and Zelensky at the United Nations in New York this month.
Lammy said “no war is won with any one weapon”, but added: “It’s important that we support the Ukrainians to continue to repel Russia in the Black Sea, it’s important that they can deal with the huge challenges in the air that are being mounted by Russia and of course that we support them – and we have – with training of their own men and women on the front line.
“We want to put Ukraine in the strongest position going forward.
“I can’t tell you operationally, on air, what we will or won’t do, and I particularly won’t do that at a time when Russia is buying ballistic missiles from Iran and escalating further.
“But please understand this is under careful discussion with the Ukrainians as we assess what they need as they head into that winter.”
Zelensky posted a fresh plea for aid on social media site X on Sunday: “This week, the Russians have launched around 30 missiles of various types, more than 800 guided aerial bombs, and nearly 300 strike drones against Ukraine.
“Ukraine needs strong support from our partners to defend lives against Russian terror-air defense, long-range capabilities, support for our warriors. Everything that will help force Russia to end this war.
“I thank everyone around the world who understands this and our partners who help and support us.”
A British military intelligence update suggested Russia was continuing a “high tempo of offensive operations in multiple areas of the frontline” in the conflict.
A counter-offensive has been launched by airborne and naval infantry units in Kursk, the area of Russia invaded by Ukrainian forces, and they have “highly likely retaken several villages”.
In eastern Ukraine, the Ministry of Defence intelligence update said Putin’s troops were making “gradual advances” around Vuhledar and to the southeast of the important logistics hub Pokrovsk.
Senior Tories have pushed for the UK to give Ukraine permission to strike inside Russia with Storm Shadow missiles even without US agreement.
Former prime minister Boris Johnson and ex-defence secretaries Grant Shapps, Ben Wallace, Gavin Williamson, Penny Mordaunt and Liam Fox have pushed for the change, the Sunday Times reported.
Former foreign secretary and Tory leadership hopeful James Cleverly told Sky News: “I think it’s disappointing that Keir Starmer and David Lammy have failed to secure international agreement for Ukraine to use these missiles in their self-defence against the launch sites of those weapons that are currently hitting civilian infrastructure, energy infrastructure.
“It’s complicated negotiations, but we’ve had a successful track record up until now, and I really hope that they will continue pushing on this.”
Press Association – David Hughes