Russia's new offensive in Ukraine should act as a "wake-up signal" for the countries that diverted their attention from the war in Ukraine because of other conflicts, said the British defense minister, quoted by PA/DPA and BTA.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky announced yesterday that he has postponed all upcoming foreign travel after Russian troops began an offensive in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region.
Some Ukrainian troops have been forced to withdraw because of the offensive, one of the most significant since Russia's full-scale invasion of the neighboring country began in February 2022.
In a statement on Sky News, Grant Shapps expressed confidence that Russia would not take the city of Kharkiv, but said the UK had foreseen that the “lack of attention from civilized countries” will allow such a situation to develop.
The British minister said: “I really hope that this is the wake-up call that we have been trying to send and that is now being heard. And it is that this is not a war to which you can afford to first devote all your attention, and then divert it, or perhaps be distracted by another conflict, and in the end expect nothing to have changed on the ground ."
Shaps pointed out: “We must support (the Ukrainians) continuously, not just from time to time.“
According to the British minister, the military aid package recently approved in the US is already traveling to the front line and enabling Ukraine to resist the Russian offensive, but added that “obviously” it took too long to get through the US Congress.
A shortage of manpower and ammunition has caused Ukrainian forces to cover a front line 620 miles long, and Russia is trying to take advantage of that shortage.
President Zelensky has already announced the deployment of reinforcements in Kharkiv and the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, saying the situation is “under control”.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced an additional $2 billion military aid package to Ukraine yesterday during a two-day visit to the country.