Boris Johnson and Liz Truss have called on Rishi Sunak to provide fighter jets to Ukraine immediately.
The two former Conservative prime ministers piled the pressure on their successor after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Mr Sunak to provide Ukraine with fighter jets during a surprise visit to the UK earlier this month.
Mr Johnson, who has become good friends with Mr Zelenskyy, urged ministers to give Ukrainians “what they need to win this war, this year”.
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Mr Johnson called on Western countries as a whole to do more to help Ukraine after he blamed them for allowing Russia to annex Crimea in 2014, saying that gave Vladimir Putin the belief he could attack Ukraine last year.
“But above all, we must give the Ukrainians what they need to win this war, this year,” he told the Commons during a debate on Ukraine.
“By ensuring that Ukraine wins and that Putin fails we are making the best and the most financially efficient investment in the long term security, not just of the euro Atlantic area, but of the whole world.”
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He said the UK can be proud of what “successive governments” have done to help Ukraine and it is their armed forces who deserve the credit as they “fight like lions”.
“But be in no doubt western equipment has been invaluable,” Mr Johnson added.
“The story of the last 12 months is that sooner or later, having exhausted all other options, we give them what they need, from anti-tank missiles…to tanks and so, if that is the choice, sooner or later, then for heaven’s sake let’s give these weapons sooner.
“Let’s cut to the chase and give them the planes too.”
He said there is an urgency to increase equipment supply as it is “becoming ever clearer that China is preparing to arm the Russians”.
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Using his backbench position, Mr Johnson criticised the West, saying: “It was the West’s collective weakness in 2014, the effective acquiescence in Putin’s aggression which helped to convince him that he could launch an attack last year.
“We must not make that mistake again. After a year of slaughter, we need to be doing more collectively to show the people of Russia what they are losing by Putin’s misrule.
“We should be making it clear to Putin’s entire war machine as well as the regime in the Kremlin, that they will be held to account for their crimes of torture, rape and indiscriminate killing that they have sponsored.”
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Truss backs call for fighter jets
Ms Truss, who served for just 45 days as PM after taking over from Mr Johnson last September, but was his foreign secretary when Russia invaded, backed his calls for fighter jets.
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Making her first contribution in the Commons since stepping down in October – and her first as a backbencher since 2012 – she recalled what it was like for the government when Russia invaded Ukraine last year.
She said other MPs criticised the speed it took to supply Ukraine with weapons but she said the UK worked “as quickly as we could” to persuade allies to supply equipment.
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“We have built up now an alliance of countries supplying those weapons and I can’t wait to see the tanks, and I can’t wait to see the fighter jets in Ukraine to help those brave Ukrainians,” she said.
Ms Truss added: “We need to do all we can to make sure Ukraine wins this war as soon as possible.
“Every extra day, a life lost, women violated, towns destroyed, we need to do all we can, as fast as we can.
“My view is that does include fighter jets and we have had a discussion today about which are the best possible options… having spoken to the Ukrainians about this, months and months ago, I know what they want is an option.”
