UK defense chief urges Washington to back Kyiv amid growing row
Britain's Defence Secretary Wes Streeting on Thursday urged the US to support Ukraine amid a growing rift between the two countries, insisting it was in Washington's short- and long-term interest.
"There is enormous opportunity for the US in terms of the support for Ukraine, the insight, the defence industrial relationship," Streeting said during an event hosted by the CSIS think tank in Washington.
"I think the US will find in the years and the decades to come that Ukraine will contribute a hell of a lot to American strength, both in terms of military power, but also its defence industrial base too," he said.
Streeting noted that while the US is far removed geographically, "if aggression is rewarded, if borders can be redrawn by force, if the sovereignty of nations becomes negotiable, the consequences will not remain confined to Ukraine."
Relations between Washington and Kyiv have been increasingly tense in recent days, with President Donald Trump calling for Volodymyr Zelensky to be replaced after the Ukrainian leader slammed a US deal allowing more Russian diesel into global markets.
Trump also accused Zelensky of ignoring instructions to not strike Russian refineries, while Kyiv and its European allies warned that easing pressure on Moscow would help fund the Kremlin's war.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham meanwhile reiterated his "complete solidarity" with Zelensky over the weekend. Downing Street said the premier also pledged that Britain would "strengthen its sanctions on Russia."
Russia, which launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, now occupies roughly one-fifth of Ukrainian territory.
source: AFP
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