Just 14 UK tanks for Ukraine? We must do better than that

Britain’s miliary backing of Zelensky has been dwarfed by our EU allies, writes shadow defence secretary John Healey. If we are serious about defeating Putin – and defending Britain – we must double down on our support

Shadow defence secretary John Healey believes complacency could be the enemy of success in Ukraine (PA Archive)

Complacency could be the enemy of success in Ukraine. It is 564 days since Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine shook to the core assumptions about our UK and European security. War in Europe is a brutal reminder that to be secure at home, we must be strong abroad – and that our allies are the UK’s great strategic strength. Defence of the UK starts in Ukraine.

Despite deeply dug and heavily mined Russian defences, the Ukrainians are gradually getting the upper hand on the battlefield in the south, as well as diversifying the ways it is hitting the enemy – from airfields at depth in Russia, to targets in Crimea, to Russian ships in the Black Sea.

Some have criticised the slow pace of Ukraine’s counter-offensive. Yet its forces are making a similar rate of progress as British troops advancing into Normandy after the D-Day landings. Now is the time for Ukraine’s allies to double down on our support.

And the UK government will continue to have Labour’s fullest support on military aid to Ukraine and on reinforcing Nato allies – an undertaking I will stress for the new defence secretary in the Commons today. Putin is fighting on the political battlefield, as well as the military battlefield.

More than 18 months on, there is no sign his strategic aims have changed. He wants a bigger Russian zone of control around his country’s borders, and he wants to divide and weaken the West so we tire of supporting Ukraine. He believes the West will not stay the course. Those who call for the Ukrainians to sue for peace and negotiate are doing Putin’s dirty work for him.

In over 20 years, Putin has never given up territory he’s taken by force. A ceasefire now would cede new territory to Russia, allow Putin’s forces to regroup, deepen their occupation and legitimize their regime of torture, rape and execution. These threats are long term. There may be a change to Labour next year but there will be no change in Britain’s resolve to stand with Ukraine, confront Russian aggression and pursue Putin for his war crimes.

I have been proud of the UK’s support for Ukraine and the UK’s leadership amongst allies to get them to do more. I want to be able to say the same in six months’ time. While the prime minister promised to “accelerate” UK support for Ukraine in January, I fear the momentum behind our military help is faltering.

The government’s pledge of £2.3bn for military aid this year was made back in September last year. Germany has now made a multi-year commitment to Ukraine worth £9bn.

The 14 Challenger 2 tanks the UK sent to Ukraine may be seen as top of the range but our effort has now been dwarfed by other European allies. Poland has committed 324 tanks, the Czechs 90 and the Netherlands 89.

And while the government finally decided last week to proscribe Wagner as a terrorist organisation, Labour have argued for this since February and the EU Parliament voted for it late last year. Ukraine must win this war, and Russia must lose. Ben Wallace understood this well and Grant Shapps must now give it his full focus.

There has been a “hollowing out” of our forces [over the last 13 years], as Ben Wallace put it in the Commons. Since 2010, the government has cut 25,000 full-time soldiers from the British Army, removed one in five ships from the Royal Navy and taken over 200 aircraft out of RAF service in the last five years alone. Grant Shapps has taken a serious job at a serious time, with political leadership just as vital as military leadership.

Complacency could be the enemy of success in Ukraine. As the new defence secretary, he should pursue an accelerated UK plan to help support Ukraine and defeat Putin.

First, he must accelerate military support, as Rishi Sunak promised. Second, he must redouble UK defence diplomacy to help maintain Western unity. Third, he must spell out the long-term security guarantees announced with G7 partners at the recent Nato summit.

On all three fronts, if ministers will act – then Labour stands ready to back them.

John Healey is the shadow secretary of state for housing and the Labour MP for Wentworth and Dearne