The current war in Ukraine: all the news and developments on the ticker

Britain’s Defense Secretary Grant Shabbs has appealed to other countries to allow the use of weapons supplied to Ukraine to attack targets on the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula. “These weapons can be used across Ukraine, including in Crimea – and are being used in our case,” Shapps told the BBC.

He was responding to a question about whether Ukraine could use British weapons to attack targets inside Russia. Shabbs replied vaguely that he could not go into the details of what they would allow with the weapons. “But we are giving Ukraine our weapons so they can defend their country.”

Before talking about whether the supplied weapons should be used against targets in Russia, there is also the question of whether other countries would allow them to be used in Crimea. All partners likely to supply long-range weapons should allow their use in Crimea, Schapps told Sky News television channel, citing Germany.

Ukraine is defending itself against Russia’s war of aggression for the third year running. “(President Vladimir) Putin is obfuscating this war in many ways by turning the entire economy into a war, which is unsustainable for Russia to continue for many years,” Shabbs told the BBC. The West must not let up. He stressed that the British did not want to engage in direct conflict with Russia and were committed to providing arms and helping with training.

Shapps wrote on Platform X that Russia’s latest offensive in the Kharkiv region should be a wake-up call. Countries should step up their aid. He wrote that Britain has delivered a million rounds of ammunition, drones and anti-aircraft missiles to the front lines to help stop Putin’s army.