Ukraine conflict entering ‘critical stage’ – UK

Western Europe therefore needs to “redouble” its support for Kiev, British Defense Secretary John Healey has insisted

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine is entering a “critical stage,” meaning that Kiev needs even more support from its foreign backers, British Defense Secretary John Healey has said.

Healey was commenting following a meeting of the defense ministers of Germany, France, the UK, Italy and Poland in Berlin on Monday. Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov joined the summit via video link.

"We discussed with Rustem Umerov the need to redouble our support for Ukraine because the defense of Europe, the defense of the UK, starts in Ukraine, and if [Russian President Vladimir] Putin prevails in Ukraine, he will not stop there,” the UK defense secretary claimed.

Healey suggested that “the war in Ukraine is entering a critical stage” and urged the Western European nations “to step up our security and our collective defense.”

During the press conference, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius addressed the possible change in the US approach to Ukraine after President-elect Donald Trump, who has been skeptical about further aid to Kiev, returns to the White House on January 20, 2025.

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"With President Trump, with a new US administration, certain things will change, and the sooner we prepare for this, the better. And, of course, we will continue to coordinate closely with our European partners,” he said.

Berlin and its NATO partners will continue to support the Ukrainian military and the country's defense industry, the German defense minister promised. “Our target must be to enable Ukraine to act out of a position of strength,” he said.

Moscow’s military operation not only affects Ukraine, as “Russian threats are always directed at us at the same time,” Pistorius claimed.

French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu announced that Paris plans to supply Kiev with Mistral short-range air defense systems in the coming weeks.

Earlier this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected allegations that his country was planning aggression against NATO as “nonsense.” He said such claims are made by Western politicians to deceive the public in their countries and justify increased spending on defense and aid to Kiev amid the conflict with Moscow. “In Ukraine, we are just protecting ourselves,” Putin insisted.

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However, after Ukraine received permission for long-range strikes from the US and UK and used foreign-supplied missiles to target Russia’s internationally recognized territory last week, Putin warned that “we consider ourselves entitled to use our weapons against the military facilities of those countries that allow the use of their weapons against our facilities.” He added that in the event of an escalation of aggression, his country will respond “decisively and in a mirror-like manner.”