UK defence secretary: Russia's invasion of Ukraine is 'not on schedule'
February 28, 2022, 9:20 am

UK defence secretary: Russia's invasion of Ukraine is 'not on schedule'

Robert Ben Lobban Wallace is a British Conservative Party politician currently serving as Secretary of State for Defence since 24 July 2019 and Member of Parliament for Wyre and Preston North, formerly Lancaster and Wyre, since 2005 (File photo: Facebook page)

The Sky News reported, the UK defence secretary has said that Russia's invasion of Ukraine is "not on schedule" and Vladimir Putin's forces "are in some significant areas of disarray."

Ben Wallace said the Russian invasion launched last week is not having the "strategic impact" that Moscow believed it would.

The Sky News said that his comments come after the Ministry of Defence shared an intelligence update of the latest situation on the ground in Ukraine.

In a tweet, the MoD said: "The bulk of Putin's ground forces remain more than 30km to the north of Kyiv, their advance having been slowed by Ukrainian forces defending Hostomel airfield, a key Russian objective for day one of the conflict.

"Heavy fighting continues around Chernihiv and Kharkiv; however both cities remain under Ukrainian control.

"Logistical failures and staunch Ukrainian resistance continue to frustrate the Russian advance.

Ben Wallace: Russian forces in Ukraine 'not on schedule'
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace says Russian forces in Ukraine are "not on schedule" as Putin had based his plan on the "bizarre assumption that the Ukrainians would welcome them as liberators". Live: https://trib.al/QTC8as2 📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube
Posted by Sky News on Sunday, February 27, 2022

"Despite continued attempts to suppress details of the conflict from the Russian population, the Russian Armed Forces has for the first time been forced to acknowledge suffering casualties."

Boris Johnson spoke with Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Sunday evening and promised to do "all he could to help ensure defensive aid from the UK and allies reached" the country.

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Mr Zelenskyy told the PM the next 24 hours would be a "crucial period" for Ukraine.

Mr Johnson has announced that immediate family members will be able to join Ukrainians settled in the UK as they flee the Russian invasion.

Speaking to Sky News, the defence secretary said this announcement was only a "first step" and "we're absolutely looking at all the different range of options we can apply to welcome Ukrainians in need".

It has also been confirmed that plans to tackle the flow of "dirty money" and stop the laundering of ill-gotten wealth in the UK property market will be fast-tracked by the government.

The move, first reported on Saturday by Sky News political correspondent Tamara Cohen, comes just days after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Mr Wallace said the Russian president's nuclear warning is a "big attempt to distract away from his troubles in Ukraine".

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Asked if Mr Putin was "crazy enough" to start a nuclear conflict, Mr Wallace said "he has certainly done a lot of irrational things recently".

But he added: "I think I'm not going to speculate on what he would or wouldn't do, but that's why we all keep our deterrents at a state of readiness in the West."

Source: skynews

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.