The foreign secretary has said the UK and allies will not be “bullied by Putin’s shameless grandstanding” as the prime minister faces pressure to allow Ukraine to fire British long-range missiles into Russia.
David Lammy told Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips the Russian president’s threats to use nuclear weapons if the West sends more weapons to Kyiv are “totally unacceptable”.
The government is facing increasing pressure from Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy to allow troops to fire Storm Shadow long-range missiles into Russia, however no decision was made following talks between Sir Keir Starmer and US President Joe Biden in Washington this week.
Two US officials familiar with the discussions said they believed Sir Keir was seeking US approval, needed as Storm Shadow components are made in the US, but no decision was made.
Mr Lammy said he could not discuss the details of why a decision was not made, but added: “There’s a debate about further missiles.
“And we are discussing that as allies, as you would expect us to.
“I am not going to discuss the operational detail of that…because I’m not going to assist Putin as we head into the winter.”
Sir Keir Starmer with David Lammy during a visit to the White House this week
He added: “Putin threatens every few months to use nuclear weapons, it’s totally unacceptable.
“We won’t be bullied by Putin’s shameless grandstanding.
“What he should now do is cease his aggression and leave Ukraine.”
He added Sir Keir has pledged £3 billion in aid to Ukraine and provided more missiles when asked, and will continue to support Ukraine.
Mr Lammy said long-range missiles will be discussed again at the UN General Assembly next week.
Shadow Home Secretary James Cleverly, who was previously foreign secretary, said it was “disappointing” Sir Keir and Mr Lammy had “failed to secure international agreement for Ukraine to use these missiles”.
He told Phillips he “lobbied very, very hard” to give Ukraine what it needed to defend itself when he was foreign secretary, and said his government “led the field” when it came to providing the long-range missiles.
“It’s complicated negotiations, but we’ve had a successful track record up until now, and I really hope that they will continue pushing on this,” he said.
Ukraine’s head of mission to NATO, Natalia Galibarenko, said Kyiv will “not give up” on calling for the long-range missiles.
She told Trevor the situation on the battlefield is “complicated” but “under control”, and said the counter-offensive into Russia has “not failed”.