Downing Street said on Tuesday there was “no factual basis” for Russian claims that Britain and France planned to deliver dirty bombs or nuclear weapons to Ukraine.
Russia’s foreign ministry bizarrely claimed on Tuesday that British and French “elites are actively exploring ways to deliver a nuclear bomb, or at least a so-called dirty bomb” to Kiev.
In 2022, the Kremlin also raised accusations that Ukraine was preparing to use explosive devices containing radioactive material to the United Nations Security Council, when they accused Ukraine of preparing to detonate bombs to accuse Moscow of using weapons of mass destruction.
Asked about the latest claims, the prime minister’s official spokesman called them “a clear attempt by Vladimir Putin to divert attention from his latest actions in Ukraine”.
“This has no basis in fact,” the spokesman said.
He added: “You will see the Prime Minister’s speech this morning, in which he paid tribute to the incredible resilience of Ukrainians, and you will also see the military, humanitarian and reconstruction action package announced today, which demonstrates our support for Ukraine. We will continue to work to ensure a just and lasting peace.”
Sir Keir Starmer says Putin “will not win” his brutal war in Ukraine as new sanctions on Russia are revealed.
The Prime Minister added that the UK would “step up” military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, ahead of a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in a coalition willing to meet on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (Jonathan Brady/PA) (PA Wire)
Britain has also chosen to impose new sanctions on Russia on the fourth anniversary of the full-scale invasion, aimed at squeezing its oil and gas industry and limiting war funding.
The plan, the largest package implemented since the early months of the war in 2022, includes pipeline company PJSC Transneft, which the foreign ministry says is responsible for transporting more than 80% of Russia’s oil exports, as well as 175 companies and 48 tankers involved in the “Shadow Fleet” operation transporting Russian oil.
Sir Keir said: “On this grim anniversary, our message to the people of Ukraine is simple: the UK is with you and stronger than ever. That is why we are announcing new support today and we will continue to support Ukraine for as long as it is needed.”
“Despite the turmoil of today’s world affairs, this war remains the most critical issue of our time. It raises the question of whether freedom in Ukraine and Europe can endure.
“Our collective answer is clear: Russia will not win this war. They will not win this war. Ukraine’s courage continues to stand up for our shared values in the face of Putin’s aggression.
“We will stand with them until a just and lasting peace is achieved and beyond. Slava Ukraine.”
Britain’s chief of defense staff, Sir Richard Knighton, also stressed on Tuesday that a Russian victory in Ukraine was “far from inevitable”.
Praising the courage of the Ukrainian people, he said: “For all the suffering Putin has inflicted on innocent civilians in his illegal war, the Ukrainian people have come together to defend their homeland.
“They have proven that Russia’s victory is far from inevitable.”
Sir Richard said that since February 24, 2022, Russia has caused more than 1.2 million casualties.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer at a press conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris (Tom Nicholson/PA Wire)
He added that the Russian Black Sea Fleet had been “overpowered by a country without a navy” and that Ukrainian airspace was still contested “despite the overwhelming odds.”
“Russia’s war in Ukraine has lasted longer than its involvement in the Second World War, but the front lines have barely moved since 2022,” Sir Richard stressed.
Meanwhile, Western officials say they believe Putin can no longer recruit Russian troops quickly enough to replace soldiers killed on Ukraine’s battlefields.
However, Armed Forces Minister Al Kearns insisted that the reduction in the number of Russian combatants did not mean the UK could relax its commitment to increase defense spending.
According to Western officials, 30,000 to 35,000 Russian soldiers are being recruited each month.
But more people are believed to have been killed in the past three months than joined.
This means that, for the first time in four years of war, Moscow’s battlefield numbers have continued to fall.
Mr Kearns described this as “a disproportionate rise in casualties”.
Western officials believe this will have a significant impact on the Kremlin’s ability to “generate offensive power” for a spring or summer offensive, meaning any Russian advance will be slowed.
It also raises the prospect of “forced” mobilization within Russia, such as conscription, rather than relying on the promise of huge financial rewards to recruit soldiers.
Drone strikes remain a driver of battlefield casualty rates, and officials believe ground-based drones – known as unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) – will become more common in the coming year.
Vladimir Putin (PA Archive)
However, Kearns said individual soldiers remain “critical” to taking and holding positions once the drone strikes are over.
As all-out war in Ukraine enters its fifth year, the government has announced a new support package aimed at bolstering Kiev’s war effort.
These include a £20m package to help repair and protect the national grid, often a target of Russian attacks, and £5.7m in aid to Ukrainians whose towns and villages are on the frontline of the war.
Ukrainian military doctors also received guidance from British surgeons, nurses and physiotherapists in battlefield surgery.
Sir Keir will convene a virtual meeting of the coalition of the willing to discuss recent peace talks and further support for Kiev in the ongoing conflict.
Russia continued its bombardment of Ukraine over the weekend, with a barrage of missiles and drones killing one person in Kiev and attacking the country’s energy grid.
The country’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, told the BBC that he believed Putin’s invasion of Ukraine had triggered World War III.
“I believe Putin has already started. The question is how much territory he will be able to seize and how to stop him… Russia wants to impose a different way of life on the world and change the life that people choose for themselves,” he told the broadcaster.
