‘Softly, softly’ approach on Ukraine will not succeed, warns Tory MP
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A Tory MP has warned that the West must not take a “softly, softly” approach to the war in Ukraine.
It comes after Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky’s surprise visit to Washington to meet Joe Biden.
He used the meeting to warn that a “just peace” for Ukraine means no compromises, as he said that the war would end once Ukraine’s sovereignty, freedom and territorial integrity were restored, as well as the “payback for all the damages inflicted by Russian aggression”.
It came amid concerns in some quarters about any fracturing of Nato or EU unity as the war drags on.
Bob Seely told BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme that it was delusional to believe that a softer approach would lead to a “positive” outcome in the Ukrainian efforts against the Russian invasion.
“I think we’re deluding ourselves if we think playing softly, softly is going to have a positive outcome,” the Isle of Wight MP told the programme from the south of Ukraine.
“It is not.
“If Putin thinks that he has strategic patience and the West doesn’t, if he thinks that the West will not increase supply further, Putin then knows that what he has to do in order to seize large parts of Ukraine is simply to increase mass and increase the dominance of the Russian artillery and firepower systems.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak discussed the war with European Commission president Ursula von Der Leyen during a call on Thursday.
“The leaders agreed that the UK and the EU would remain steadfast in our military economic and diplomatic support for Ukraine and in countering Russian aggression,” a Downing Street spokesman said.
