“THE UK is our friend of first resort.”
That’s how the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, described the relation-ship between our countries when I met him for the first time as Foreign Secretary last September.
I had in fact met him many times before when I was a Minister of State.
We work so closely with our American friends that it helps to know each other.
I will see him again in Washington this week and the biggest subject on our agenda will be how to defeat Vladimir Putin’s barbaric onslaught against Ukraine.
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Britain and America have done exactly the right thing by helping Ukraine’s ferocious defence of its territory.
We are both committed to one goal: Our Ukrainian friends must win — and they will win.
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Now is not the time to step back or take our foot off the pedal.
On the contrary, now is the time to accelerate and go further and faster in giving Ukraine the support it needs.
That’s exactly what our Prime Minister has decided, based on the advice of our military experts.
Ukraine’s heroic armed forces have already recaptured thousands of square miles from the Russians, driving them out of more than half of all the territory they grabbed last year.
But Putin shows no sign of withdrawing his forces. If we are to change his mind, Ukraine will need to retake more land.
Today the Russian army is on the defensive.
Morale is pitiful. Casualties are immense. Vast quantities of vehicles and equipment have been destroyed.
Troops are running short of precision weapons.
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They are low on supplies because of the shambolic state of Russian military logistics.
And Putin has yet again replaced the general in charge of his failing campaign.
In fact, not a single one of the Russian operational commanders in place when the invasion began on February 24 last year is still in his job today.
So this is exactly the right moment for Ukraine to seize the advantage.
That’s why Britain has decided to speed up and increase our military support.
We are going to supply Ukraine with up to 14 Challenger 2 main battle tanks — one of the most formidable fighting machines in the world, battle-proven in the Gulf.
The Defence Secretary will confirm the details in Parliament tomorrow.
We also continue to support the brave people of Ukraine by ramping up diplomatic and economic pressure on Putin and Russia.
Together with our international partners, we have unleashed the largest and most severe package of sanctions ever imposed on a major economy.
With their courage and tenacity, our Ukrainian friends have surely proved one thing. If they have the tools, they will finish the job.
Our task is to work with America and other allies to give them the tools that they need.
And the job is for Ukraine to liberate its brave people from the Russian invaders.
No one wants a long war.
Only Putin would gain if the bloodshed and destruction drags on.
Only he would cheer if turmoil on global energy markets drives up your electricity and gas bills.
All the more reason for Britain to give Ukraine every possible support.
If, in the future, our friends decide to begin peace talks, then we want them to be in the strongest possible position to achieve a lasting settlement.
Britain can only play this role because our Armed Forces are the finest in the world. We can offer our Ukrainian friends some of the best weapons and equipment.
And we can work alongside our extraordinary network of friends and partners on every continent.
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After Washington, I will fly on to Canada, the only country that sits alongside the UK in Nato, the Commonwealth, the G7, the G20 and the Five Eyes intelligence alliance.
From the very beginning of this crisis, Canada has been one of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters on the world stage.
As the UK and our allies back Ukraine to the hilt, I cannot remember a time when Nato was more united, or Russia more isolated.
We are doing all this not only because supporting Ukraine is right in itself, though of course it is.
We are doing this because the sooner Ukraine wins and peace returns to Europe, the better for our own national security and our own economy.
The sooner Ukraine wins, the sooner global food prices can settle down, easing the hardship of millions in the developing world.
Better for Britain, for our allies and for everyone. Except Putin.
