British defence secretary Ben Wallace declared that Russian president Vladimir Putin “is now a man in a cage he built himself”, adding that the UK and its allies will now send more weapons to Ukraine.
Mr Putin’s military is “exhausted” and he will have to suffer the consequences of his actions, Mr Wallace told Sky News on Thursday as the Russian war against Ukraine raged on for the 36th day.
“President Putin is not the force he used to be. He is now a man in a cage he built himself,” he said. “Russia is a lesser country rather than a greater country as a result of him knowingly and deliberately breaking international law by invading.”
He added: “His army is exhausted, he has suffered significant losses. The reputation of this great army of Russia has been trashed.”
“He has not only got to live with the consequences of what he is doing to Ukraine, but he has also got to live with the consequences of what he has done to his own army,” he added.
“We have seen it before. It always gets worse. It goes for more civilian attacks, more civilian areas.”
Mr Wallace added that more advanced weaponry will be supplied to Ukraine to fight off Russian forces. Moscow has lost between 7,000 and 15,000 soldiers since the war began, per latest Nato estimates.
“There’ll be more lethal aid going into Ukraine as a result of today. A number of countries have come forward either with new ideas or indeed more pledges of money,” Mr Wallace told reporters after hosting over 35 international partners at the second International Defence Donor Conference for Ukraine.
The aid will include the provision of air and coastal defence systems, longer-range artillery and counter battery capabilities, armoured vehicles as well as wider training and logistical support.
“Today’s donor conference demonstrates the international community’s determination to support Ukraine in the face of President Putin’s illegal and unprovoked invasion by Russian forces,” Mr Wallace said in a later statement.
As Ukraine marked five weeks of Russian invasion, delegations from Moscow and Ukraine are set to resume peace talks on Friday again over video amid little hope for a swift resolution of the conflict.
The conditions weren’t yet “ripe” for a ceasefire, Mr Putin said, adding that he is not ready for a meeting with counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky asking negotiators to do more work.
Mr Zelensky, in his nightly address, warned that there are battles ahead of Ukraine even as Russian troops occupying their territory are regrouping and reorganising.
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