Yvette Cooper has said the UK takes a “different view” to Donald Trump on Ukraine after the US President halted a package of sanctions on Russia just two days before they were due to come into force.
In a thinly veiled swipe at the US President, the Health Secretary - who was Foreign Secretary until recently - warned that the UK would continue increasing pressure on Vladimir Putin despite Trump's decision to pause sanctions. Trump's latest move came amid already deteriorating relations between the US and Ukraine, including his widely-criticised decision to import Russian diesel to the US and claims that the White House slowed down the US-provided Starlink satellite system used by Ukraine to shoot down Russian drones.
UK Pledges to Continue Sanctions Pressure
Speaking to Sky News’s Sunday Morning, Ms Cooper said: “We’ve been very clear that Ukraine’s security is also our security. It’s Europe security. It’s also UK security. So look, of course, we have taken a different view on the issue about the need to keep increasing sanctions, and we will continue with that.”
But the Cabinet minister stopped short on using the word "wrong" when pressed on Trump's decision to pause sanctions on Russia, adding: “I can tell you my strong personal views around the support for Ukraine, I can tell our collective views about the Government’s support for Ukraine. But we do also have to recognise the crucial diplomatic role that the Prime Minister and the rest of the Government have to play in pulling everybody together in order to support Ukraine, and that’s crucial.”
Former CIA Director on Sanctions Impact
Former CIA Director and retired US General David Patraeus said US sanctions would be "really helpful" in putting pressure on Russian despot Putin. He told Sky News: “US sanctions would really be helpful in addition to the 21 or 22 rounds of EU sanctions that have been imposed, then I think you can actually see it's possible that Vladimir Putin might look in the mirror one morning and conclude that he really cannot continue this war."
"Alternatively, if we don't do all of that, Ukraine is in a very difficult position in the short term this winter as Russia is trying to once again turn off the lights and turn off the heat, and make it more difficult to try to break the will of a people who are generally unbreakable, but might migrate a bit more from Kyiv or something like that."
Zelensky Accuses Trump of Encouraging Putin
Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday accused Trump of rewarding and encouraging Vladimir Putin after he on Friday used his executive powers to block a major sanctions package he had previously supported. Posting on messaging app Telegram, the Ukrainian President said: "The American sanctions blackout, easing pressure on the aggressor, monetary rewards for Putin - all this only encourages him to fight further."
It comes amid worsening relations between the US and Ukraine over the course of this month. Among other troubling developments, Trump called for Zelensky to be replaced and declined to say whether Russia was responsible for the war.
The row has also sparked fears the US would stop intelligence sharing with Kyiv, and saw Ukraine’s access to the military component of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite communications system restricted. Ukraine relies on Starlink to help intercept Russian missile and drone attacks, but faced speed limits earlier in the week that significantly curtailed its ability to do so.
Musk has claimed the order to impose speed limits on Ukraine’s Starlink access came from Trump’s administration, but the President has denied this. The UK Government has backed Ukraine throughout the row, with Prime Minister Andy Burnham welcoming Zelensky to Downing Street on Wednesday.
