RISHI Sunak last night warned Sir Keir Starmer was playing into Vladimir Putin’s hands — by not raising defence spending in his manifesto.
He said Labour’s failure to match the Tories’ increase risked Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s war effort.
GettyRishi Sunak has warned that Sir Keir Starmer is playing into Vladimir Putin’s hands by not raising defence spending[/caption]
GettyMr Sunak has held numerous talks with Volodymyr Zelensky at the G7 in Italy[/caption]
Speaking at the G7 in Italy, Mr Sunak said: “I can sit there and tell Zelensky, yep, as long as it takes, we will have the money to continue supporting you . . . the Labour Party can’t say that.”
Mr Sunak also held talks with Mr Zelensky, the pair embracing at the end as Ukraine’s leader wished the PM “all the best” for the election.
It came after the G7 agreed to loan Ukraine £50billion to rebuild.
Yesterday we revealed Sunak will use the G7 summit to unveil a £242million package of support to help rebuild the crippled country.
Mr Sunak said: “We must be decisive in our efforts to support Ukraine at this critical moment.
“We must move from ‘As long as it takes’ to ‘Whatever it takes’ if we are to end Putin’s illegal war.”
In April, Sunak gave a chilling warning that Putin will not stop at the Poland border should the despot defeat Ukraine in the war.
As the West heads for a nuclear showdown, gunboats, lethal missiles and armoured vehicles were sent to repel Vlad under Britain’s largest-ever tranche of military aid for Ukraine.
The immediate funding was to support “the highest priority capabilities”, a Downing Street spokesperson said.
Including further ammunition, air defence and drones, the cash boost would take the UK’s support for Kyiv to £3billion this financial year.
A Downing Street spokesperson said that the PM spoke to President Zelensky to assure him of the UK’s steadfast support for Ukraine’s defence against “Russia’s brutal and expansionist ambitions”.