There is much more that Britain could do to support an increasingly successful Ukraine

Even President Trump seems to have seen the light on the war. Zelensky needs ammunition, not to be taken for a ride

The West still has a crucial role to play Credit: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire

Published 12 July 2026

Ukraine has just endured another vicious onslaught on civilian targets by Russian drones and missiles. In recent weeks at least 60 non-combatants have been killed by these attacks.

In retaliation, Kyiv has struck back at the Russian oil and arms industries, destroying refineries, depots and factories, sinking tankers and severing fuel supplies to regions such as Novosibirsk. Occupied Crimea is now virtually cut off from the mainland.

On the battlefield, Vladimir Putin’s forces are suffering an estimated 35,000 casualties a month. Such losses are unsustainable. This autumn, with September’s rigged parliamentary elections safely behind him, the Russian leader may hazard one last gamble: full mobilisation and total war.

Militarily, then, Ukraine is doing more than merely surviving: it is increasingly successful. Russian morale is difficult to gauge, but the reality of war is now being brought home even to the Moscow elites. Kremlin propaganda claimed that the loss of US support would cripple the Ukrainian war effort. The opposite happened: adversity has stimulated innovation, and Kyiv’s forces are now stronger than ever.

The West, though, still has a crucial role to play. At last week’s Nato summit in Ankara, Donald Trump promised to license the production of Patriot missiles by Ukraine to defend its cities. It seems that Mr Trump has finally started to see the light.

The EU has promised cash, of which Kyiv is desperately short. With the obstructive Viktor Orbán gone, Brussels has no more excuses.

There is much more that Britain could do: interdicting the English Channel, North Sea and Atlantic approaches to Putin’s shadow fleet, for example. Andy Burnham’s first defence commitment as prime minister should be to bolster spending on our own armed forces. His second should be to keep the support going for Ukraine. To paraphrase Volodymyr Zelensky: he needs ammunition, not to be taken for a ride.

3 comments

“Even President Trump seems to have seen the light on the war. Zelensky needs ammunition, not to be taken for a ride”

A widely optimistic view.
If he had “seen the light”, he would have condemned his friend’s genocidal attacks on civilians in no uncertain terms and ordered his commanders to give Ukraine everything they need to defeat the tiny rat nazi.
The right to manufacture Patriot interceptors is of no help whatsoever for a long time.
Ukraine desperately needs help now : to defend its cities and to smash putinaZi infrastructure.