The Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has said Russian forces must be pushed out of “the whole of Ukraine”, in what amounts to the clearest statement yet of Britain’s war aims.
Western powers are turning their minds to how the war in Ukraine might end, and what they want beyond a cessation of hostilities.
In her speech in London, Liz Truss said Russia had to be pushed out of “the whole of Ukraine”.
That is the clearest statement yet of Britain’s war aims and implies Russian forces must leave not just the territory occupied in recent weeks but also those areas invaded eight years ago, such as Crimea.
Not all Western powers may share such an ambitious target.
The foreign secretary also made clear the West should do more to deter future Russian aggression, by spending more on defence and using its economic clout to exclude Russia from western markets.
She said the West should beef up the defence capabilities not just of Ukraine but other threatened countries too, such as Moldova and Georgia.
If Russia were to succeed, she said, there would be “untold misery across Europe”. Victory for Ukraine was a “strategic imperative” for the West, she said.
story by James Landale