UK Ministry of Defense: World is threatened by era of dictators, we cannot allow Ukraine's defeat
Photo: UK Defense Minister Grant Shapps (flickr.com/number10gov)
Minister of Defense of Britain, Grant Shapps, called on the West not to allow the defeat of Ukraine in the war with Russia, as the world is threatened by an era of dictators and autocracy, according to The Sunday Times.
In an interview with The Sunday Times, Shapps responded to statements about the West's fatigue from the war in Ukraine and warned of "serious consequences" for the world if the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin wins.
"We are in danger of sleepwalking into an era where we allow the dictatorial autocrats to get the upper hand, and that is incredibly dangerous. There’s almost no price that we shouldn’t be willing to pay today in order to stop that from happening tomorrow," emphasized the British minister.
According to Shapps, defense spending in Britain and overall in the West is insufficient to ward off the threat of a resurgent Russia. He stressed that the world must realize that it cannot avoid defense budgets reminiscent of the Cold War era because prosperity cannot be ensured by cutting basic defense needs.
"If we allow Putin to win this war by dragging it out and he somehow wins it by exhausting everybody else, then we will suffer the consequences. And the consequences would be incredibly severe for Europe, for Britain, for the world. And the reason I say that is because we know what happens when dictators march across Europe," he explained.
The British minister added that the consequences of Putin's victory could extend not only to Europe but also to the Indo-Pacific region or elsewhere. Therefore, as Shapps emphasized, the world cannot afford not to win this war.
Britain is assisting Ukraine with weapons and is also training Ukrainian military personnel. The British Army has already trained over 30,000 Ukrainian military personnel.
Additionally, Britain could become the first country to sign a security guarantee agreement with Ukraine. Britain may help Ukraine strengthen its naval forces.
