UK Foreign secy warns Europe will be 'less safe' if NATO fails to push Putin's troops out

As devastating war in Ukraine continues with no sign of ceasing any time soon, United Kingdom's Foreign Secretary Liz Truss claimed that Europe will be "much less safe" if North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) does not make it ir "absolute priority" to Push Moscow's troops out of Kyiv. She also called Russian President Vlimir Putin an "appalling dictator" who has been waging a war that is in no way legitimate or legal. "I have not met Vlimir Putin, I don't know motivation for carrying out this appalling war. All I know is that we have to make it our absolute priority to stop this war and to push Russian troops out of Ukraine," Truss told Sky News. 

UK Foreign Secretary me se remarks during opening day of NATO summit in Mrid, where leers of alliance have gared to formulate a new strategy in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Meanwhile, UK government has declared that it will provide Ukraine with an ditional £1 billion ($1.2 billion) in military assistance. With this, Britain has provided military aid totalling £2.3 billion since onset of war -- more than any country except United States. 

Zelenskyy lauds UK govt for providing ditional support

According to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, ditional funding would be used to develop capabilities such as vanced air defence systems, unmanned aerial vehicles, cutting-edge new electronic warfare gear, and or essential equipment for Ukrainian Armed Forces. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy extended his gratitude to UK government for ditional assistance. "I’m grateful to UK Prime Minister @BorisJohnson  for allocating an ditional £1 billion for security assistance to Ukraine. UK is our true friend and strategic partner. We appreciate consistent, leership support for Ukraine in countering Russian aggression [sic]," he tweeted. 

UK Defence Secy urges PM Johnson to increase defence budget

It is pertinent to mention here that UK leership is also engaged in a heated discussion about wher to raise defence spending in face of conflict. UK presently devotes about 2% of its GDP to defence, which is in line with goal NATO has set for its members. However, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has pushed PM Johnson to increase military spending in response to ongoing war. Truss declined to comment on Wallace's plea but stated that budget needed to be "fit for purpose," Sky News reported. 

Image: AP