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Rishi Sunak and US Vice President Kamala Harris today reaffirmed their support for Ukraine and the Western alliance at the Munich Security Conference in Germany.
Sunak told the conference that it was “time to double down” on supporting Ukraine by providing more artillery, armored vehicles and air defense.
Meanwhile, US Vice President Kamala Harris told the summit that US support for Ukraine “will not waver” and that Russia will be held to account for its “crimes against humanity.”
Ms Harris also warned China against providing “lethal” support to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Sunak told the conference that it was “time to double down” support for Ukraine’s defense by providing more artillery, armored vehicles and air defense.
US Vice President Kamala Harris addressed the conference, saying US support for Ukraine “would not waver” and that Russia would be held accountable for its “crimes against humanity”.
Sunak said: ‘Together we must help Ukraine protect its cities from Russian bombs and Iranian drones.
“That is why we are working with allies to give Ukraine the most advanced air defense systems and build the air force they need to defend their nation.
“Of course, the UK is ready to help any country to provide aircraft that Ukraine can use today.
“But we must also train Ukrainian pilots to use the most advanced jets. That is exactly what Britain is doing so that Ukraine has the ability to defend its security in the long term.”
He also said that the UK would be the first country to provide Ukraine with longer-range weapons.
Sunak continued: ‘To win peace, we also need to rebuild the international order on which our collective security depends.
‘First, that means upholding international law. The whole world must hold Russia to account.
“We must see justice through the ICC for its disgusting war crimes committed, whether in Bucha, Irpen, Mariupol or beyond, and Russia must also be held accountable for the terrible destruction it has inflicted.”
It comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Britain, Paris and Brussels last week, where he urged the West to provide F-16 fighter jets for his air force.
Sunak said the UK would be the first country to provide Ukraine with long-range weapons.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (right) and Prime Minister of Poland Mateusz Morawiecki (left) shake hands ahead of bilateral talks at the Munich Security Conference in Germany.
US Vice President Kamala Harris denounced Russian “crimes against humanity” committed in Ukraine.
She said: ‘The United States has formally determined that Russia has committed crimes against humanity.
“And I say to all those who have perpetrated these crimes, and to your superiors who are complicit in those crimes, you will be held accountable.”
She added: ‘If Putin thinks he can wait for us, he is sorely mistaken. Time is not on his side.’
The Munich Security Conference brings together like-minded senior officials from around the world to discuss pressing security issues such as the continuing war in Ukraine and US-China relations.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also agreed with Sunak to “maintain the record level of international support for Ukraine” and discussed his support for Sweden’s and Finland’s NATO membership at a bilateral meeting ahead of the main conference.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (right) also agreed with Sunak “to maintain the record level of international support for Ukraine.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU should join forces with the bloc’s defense industry to speed up production of much-needed munitions for the Ukrainian battlefield.
She suggested that the bloc should do what it did during the pandemic to prepare for large-scale production of a COVID vaccine.
Ms von der Leyen added: “We could think, for example, of advanced purchase agreements that give the defense industry the possibility to invest in production lines now to be faster and increase the quantity they can deliver.”
“Now is the time, really, to ramp up production and increase production of standardized products that Ukraine desperately needs, for example, standardized ammunition.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has suggested that the EU should join forces with the bloc’s defense industry to speed up and scale up production of much-needed battlefield munitions in Ukraine.
Sunak is also expected to meet von der Leyen to discuss a deal to fix the Northern Ireland Protocol.
It comes after Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar expressed hope for a positive outcome from the UK-EU negotiations following an informational phone call from Ms von der Leyen.
An Irish government spokesman said the Taoiseach expressed his strong desire to see a “positive outcome that provides a new foundation for EU-UK relations.”
He continued: ‘Most importantly, I hoped for an agreement that can pave the way for the restoration of the institutions under the Good Friday Agreement. “They have agreed to stay in close contact over the next few days as things progress.”
China’s top diplomat Wang Yi commented on a dispute between his country and the United States after Washington shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon flying over US territory.
He denounced Washington’s handling of the incident as “hysterical” and “absurd”, repeating Beijing’s claim that the craft was just a civil unmanned aircraft gone off course.
Wang went on to ask if the United States planned to shoot down all balloons in the skies of Earth.
The director of China’s Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi, questioned whether the US planned to shoot down all balloons in Earth’s skies.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky urged world leaders to step up support for his nation when he addressed the conference via video link yesterday.
kyiv fears that crucial supplies will arrive too slowly to defend against further offensives.
Zelensky said: ‘We have to hurry. We need speed: speed of our agreements, speed of our delivery, speed of decisions to limit Russian potential.”
Speaking after Zelensky, Macron urged allies to “intensify our support” for Ukraine to help his forces launch a counteroffensive.
Scholz insisted that German support was “built to last” but launched a veiled jab at other allies for faltering efforts to deliver promised tanks to Ukraine.
Berlin has promised to send some of the latest weapons from its military stocks, but is struggling to persuade allies to do the same.
Scholz said: “Those who can send such battle tanks should really do it now.”