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

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

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".

Vladimir Putin thanks his special forces for fulfilling their 'heroic' military duty in Ukraine

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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