Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has urged Chancellor John Healey not to delay increases to the UK defence budget. In a direct intervention, the leader of the war-torn country told The Sun that he wanted to see the UK stand by its commitments and get Britain ready for war.
Mr Zelensky has been leading his nation in a war against Russia since Vladimir Putin ordered an illegal invasion of the country. He said: "Can the United Kingdom trust Russia or not? If not, defence needs to be 100% the priority. My advice to John is don't delay. Sorry, John ... but it's important to be direct."
Warning on Russian threat
He warned that the Russian despot was "testing everything and testing everyone" as he said the "danger of Russia is bigger than Ukraine", suggesting that Putin could be eyeing up Europe.
There have been mounting concerns that the Kremlin has got its eyes on the so-called "High North", the region around the Arctic where the UK has critical infrastructure. In April, Britain revealed it had tracked three Russian submarines carrying out a covert operation over undersea cables and pipelines north of the UK.
Budget timing and defence spending
The warning comes just months after Mr Healey resigned as defence secretary under Sir Keir Starmer in a row over spending, accusing the department he now leads – the Treasury – of being "unwilling" to foot the bill.
Downing Street has delayed setting out a detailed plan for meeting its pledge to spend 3% of GDP on defence until next year. Many critics now fear this will leave the country exposed to increased aggression from Moscow.
Zelensky's advice and Healey's response
Mr Zelensky said: "You need to build your military and tactical facilities and rebuild a lot of different things. Air defence is weak in Europe, not only in the UK. We have to understand and respect today's situation. I don't know all the problems but I think Russian policy is very dangerous."
Mr Healey will deliver his first Budget on Wednesday. An ally of the Chancellor told The Sun he would "fund the Defence Investment Plan in full". Defence spending is currently on track to reach only 2.7% of GDP by 2030, short of the 3% Mr Healey called for when he quit.
