Defence secretary Ben Wallace slapped down a suggestion from Liz Truss that people in the UK should volunteer to fight in Ukraine
Wallace said there are “better ways” to help Ukraine than travelling to join the fighting, for those in the UK without military experience.
He contradicted the Foreign Secretary who raised eyebrows on Sunday by saying “absolutely” when asked whether she would back anyone wanting to volunteer to help the Ukrainians fighting for their freedom.
Wallace said he did not “want to see British people killed any more than I want to see Ukrainians” as he urged people in the UK not to join the fighting.
He said: “Unless you are properly trained, there are better ways to contribute to the security of Ukraine.”
Wallace, who served in the Scots Guards, said although he would “always fight for my country”, he would not head to Ukraine as a private citizen now to take part in the conflict.
He joked that he would “probably be reduced by now to be in charge of, at my age, the Home Guard or something”.
But he said the situation in Ukraine was “very dangerous” and that citizens should find other ways to support the invaded country.
In other developments the Defence Secretary warned the Russian offensive in Ukraine is likely to become “more violent” in the coming days.
- Wallace told BBC Breakfast that although the Ukrainians were putting up “a very strong fight” the reality was they were going up against “the overwhelming scale of the Russian Federation Army”.
- Russia-Ukraine talks on the Belarus border to begin on Monday morning.
- Boris Johnson is coming under pressure to allow more Ukrainian refugees into the UK by dropping the visa requirements.
- The Russian rouble plunged nearly 30 per cent to an all-time low versus the US dollar as punishing economic sanctions began to take effect.
- US President Joe Biden will hold a call with allies to discuss the crisis later today, according to the White House.
- Home Secretary Priti Patel is unveiling the long-awaited Economic Crime Bill, which will pave the way for identifying foreign owners of UK property.
- UK government ministers are considering calls to prevent a Russian-owned oil tanker from docking in Orkney tomorrow.
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