Healey to call for '50-day drive' to arm Ukraine and force Putin to negotiate
Donald Trump has already threatened to impose 'very severe' tariffs on Russia if it does not agree a ceasefire by September 2, 50 days on from the US president's announcement that he would sell 'top-of-the-line' weapons to Nato that could then be given to Ukraine.
On Monday, Mr Healey will use a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG) to back Mr Trump's proposal and pledge that the UK will 'play our full part in its success to bolster Ukraine's immediate fight'.
Calling for more support from Western allies, he is expected to say: 'Alongside this, the US has started the clock on a 50-day deadline for Putin to agree to peace or face crippling economic sanctions.
'As members of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, we need to step up in turn with a '50-day drive' to arm Ukraine on the battlefield and force Putin to the negotiating table.'
Monday will be the fourth time Mr Healey has chaired the UDCG, and the third occasion he has done so alongside German defence minister Boris Pistorius.
The group, which brings together defence ministers and officials from Ukraine's allies, was chaired by the US until Mr Trump came to power and began rowing back on American support for Kyiv and European security.
Mr Healey's comments come as the Ministry of Defence confirmed the UK had sent £150 million worth of air defence missiles and artillery rounds to Ukraine in the past two months.
The deliveries are part of a commitment to spend £700 million on air defence and artillery ammunition for Ukraine this year, alongside other funding to provide more of the drones that have become key weapons in the war with Russia.
The UK has delivered 50,000 drones to Ukraine in the last six months, with another 20,000 coming from a coalition of nations led by Britain and Latvia.
Monday's UDCG is expected to see further commitments, with Germany and the UK agreeing to procure more air defence missiles using 170 million euros of funding from Berlin.
Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge said it was 'right' that the Government 'continues to provide all possible support to Ukraine'.
He added: 'It is also important that we stand firm alongside the United States in reinforcing their 50-day deadline to ensure Putin is under maximum pressure to pursue peace.
'That means all of our allies playing their part, and following the PM's recent summit with Chancellor Merz, we hope that this 50-day drive will include German confirmation that it intends to provide Taurus missiles to Ukraine.'
Meanwhile, Russia continues to bombard Ukraine with drones and missiles.
Confirming a string of attacks on civilian targets in Odesa and critical infrastructure in the Sumy region on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also thanked international leaders 'who understand how important it is to promptly implement our agreements' aimed at boosting Ukraine's defence capabilities.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Dassault, in spat with Airbus, says European fighter jet project at risk
PARIS, July 22 (Reuters) - French warplane maker Dassault Aviation ( opens new tab raised questions over the future of a Franco-German-Spanish fighter jet project on Tuesday in a growing feud with Europe's Airbus ( opens new tab over control of the futuristic program that combines traditional warplanes with automated drones. CEO Eric Trappier said the Future Combat Air System, widely known under its French initials SCAF, needed clearer leadership and organisation as partners move towards a second phase that calls for a flying model to prove its cutting-edge technology. SCAF is one of several so-called sixth-generation fighter projects expected to combine traditional crewed warplanes with a cohort of uncrewed and armed drones. Britain is working on a similar proposal with Italy and Japan known as GCAP. Dassault, which builds France's Rafale warplanes, is in charge of efforts to come up with designs for the core fighter, one of several "pillars" in the hugely complex SCAF project. Trappier said that in practice, decisions over key parts of the current design phase were having to be cleared with Airbus, adding complexity and contributing to delays. "They say Dassault is the leader but that all decisions must be taken between three (countries)," Trappier said at a half-yearly earnings conference. Airbus, which represents both Germany and Spain in the project with Dassault backed by France, declined comment. Asked if Dassault was threatening to leave the SCAF project, Trappier indicated the programme's wider future was at stake. "It is not a question of leaving SCAF but of deciding if it continues or not," he said. However, he strongly denied reports that Dassault was seeking 80% control. Dassault and Airbus, two historic European industry rivals called on to work together after French President Emmanuel Macron and then German Chancellor Angela Merkel launched the initiative in 2017, have squabbled repeatedly over handling of the project to replace current warplanes by 2040. The latest comments came on the eve of a Berlin summit between Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz that are expected to touch on the status of the defence project, according to a French presidential adviser and industry sources. Airbus Defence & Space CEO Michael Schoellhorn told the Paris Air Forum last month that governance had been agreed and that Airbus, a leading partner in the Eurofighter Typhoon, had a history of successful cooperation with other defence firms.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Campaigners call for Keir Starmer to say if US nuclear weapons are back in UK
Campaigners have called for Keir Starmer to tell parliament whether US nuclear weapons have returned to British soil after a distinctive US air force transport flight was spotted landing at RAF Lakenheath on Friday morning. The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and several experts believe that it is highly likely that a number of US B61-12 gravity bombs were delivered to a US air force squadron last week, the first US nuclear deployment in the UK since 2008. Tom Unterrainer, the chair of CND, said it was 'completely inappropriate' for the public to find out 'a major escalation in nuclear danger' via the assessments of military experts and called for the prime minister to update MPs. The head of the campaign group said the prime minister 'must make a public statement about this major change in Britain's security arrangements and allow for a transparent and democratic debate' on the issue. Confirmation of any deployment of nuclear weapons by Starmer or the defence secretary, John Healey, is not expected, however. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence said: 'It remains a long-standing UK and Nato policy to neither confirm nor deny the presence of nuclear weapons at a given location.' One expert, William Alberque, a former director of Nato's Arms Control, Disarmament and WMD Non-Proliferation Centre, said 'the evidence is overwhelming' to conclude that B-61 nuclear bombs have been transported to RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk. He cited other specialists who had tracked an unusual C-17 transport flight last week from the US air force base at Kirtland, New Mexico, which hosts a repository of an estimated 2,500 nuclear weapons, to Lakenheath. Taking off on Thursday, the transport plane landed in the UK on Friday and flew with its transponders on, meaning its flight was visible. The flight was operated by the 62nd Airlift Wing, the only US air force unit authorised to transport nuclear weapons. Similar flights also took place last week to air bases in Belgium and the Netherlands, home to long established 'nuclear sharing' missions – where American tactical nuclear weapons are stored at European air bases. Though the UK announced at last month's Nato summit that the RAF would purchase F-35A fighter jets, capable of carrying nuclear weapons, the likely transfer to Lakenheath comes several years ahead of that deal being completed. Hans Kristensen, nuclear information project director at the Federation of American Scientists, said he believed it was possible a deployment of nuclear weapons had taken place, and would come after a modernisation of the underground storage facilities at the Lakenheath base. The 'addition of weapons to Lakenheath would mean the number of US tactical nuclear weapons in Europe has been increased for the first time since the cold war' from approximately 100 bombs 'to probably 125-130', Kristensen said. It would also indicate that 'Nato has changed its policy of not responding with new nuclear weapons to Russia's nuclear threats and behaviour', he added. The B61-12 is a relatively simple gravity bomb that must be flown and dropped over its target. It comes in four variants, only one of which is more powerful than the 15kt weapon used to bomb Hiroshima in 1945. It has an explosive yield of 50kt, while the others are 0.3kt, 1.5kt and 10kt. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has prompted a remilitarisation in Europe, and Nato allies agreed last month at the Nato summit to lift core defence spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2035. The weapons are expected to be stored for the US air force 493rd squadron, nicknamed the Grim Reapers, based at Lakenheath. Last week, members of the unit were selling a distinctive commemorative coin at the Royal International Air Tattoo, with a heavyhanded clue that their mission had changed. Photographed by Tony Osborne, a journalist with Aviation Week, the coin comes in the shape of mushroom cloud. One side features a skull, a large missile, and the inscription 'prepare to meet thy maker' – while the other shows an explosion. 'It's quite an overt way of saying yes,' Osborne said. The coin was sold out by the second day of the air show, the journalist added, such was its popularity among those attending the event at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.
NBC News
2 hours ago
- NBC News
Coca-Cola Co. says it will launch version of its drink with American cane sugar
Coca-Cola Co. says it will launch a version of its drink with American cane sugar after President Donald Trump posted on social media about the potential offering. NBC News' Brian Cheung breaks down the differences between cane sugar drink and the current product made with corn 22, 2025
