UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly plans to tell his US and Canadian counterparts to go "further and faster" in Ukraine military support on a North American tour which follows a watershed UK decision to deliver battle tanks to Ukraine.
- Sky News: “...Cleverly is set to use this British pledge to persuade the Americans and the Canadians to follow the UK's lead. He is expected to stress the need for the right battlefield tools to be given to the Ukrainians quickly to allow them to win the war.”
- Cleverly's trip comes before a meeting of the Ukraine Contact Group on Friday at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany where 50+ defence representatives of pro-Ukraine nations are expected to discuss the provision of battle tanks.
- The move is seen as contingent on new German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius' approval of the transfer of German-made Leopard battle tanks.
- Cleverly said in a statement: "Today we stand united against Putin's illegal war, and we will continue to use our uniquely strong defence and security ties to ensure that, in the end, the Ukrainian people will win."