Pressure from the White House, cold feet in the face of Moscow’s outrage, or bungling by Starmer? Whichever it is, it is shambolic.
The first decision was the right one. For over two years, Russia has been hitting any corner of Ukraine it likes. It took months for Britain and the US to summon up the courage to supply Ukrainian forces with the long-range missiles they needed to hit back. But both countries, fearing Putin’s wrath, hogtied Kyiv by insisting they not be used against Russian targets outside Ukraine.
That has left Moscow free to build up supplies, deploy forces, and launch air attacks from within Russia with virtual impunity. We were reminded of the consequences of that this week when Putin rained down missiles on Ukrainian cities, including a children’s hospital. At least some of those strikes could potentially have been stopped on the ground before they were even launched.
determination, that we will support Ukraine with whatever it takes”. But that is not the message either Putin or Zelensky will have taken from his Storm Shadow U-turn.
Instead, Zelensky will have had his hopes dashed of Britain allowing unrestrained targeting that could have had a major impact on Russia’s war. And for Putin, there was further confirmation of how afraid Nato is of threats of escalation. This fear still grips Western leaders, despite so many of Putin’s red lines having been crossed without consequences.
Of course it is right that Britain must seek to avoid greater retaliation from the Kremlin.
But Ukraine’s war is our war, and wars are not won without taking the kind of risks inherent in enabling Ukraine to shove back harder against Putin. They are certainly not won by the kind of indecision we have seen from the Government this week.
Original Article Daily Telegraph
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