Five former defense ministers of Britain are asking to allow Ukraine to attack Russia

Five former UK defense ministers and a former prime minister have urged British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to allow Ukraine to use long-range Storm Shadow missiles for strikes against Russia, even without U.S. support.

According to The Sunday Times, the officials—Grant Shapps, Ben Wallace, Gavin Williamson, Penny Mordaunt, Liam Fox, and Boris Johnson—warned Starmer that any further delay would embolden Vladimir Putin. Wallace stated that failure to act now would mean “appeasing” the Kremlin, while Williamson called it a “dereliction of duty.” Boris Johnson added, “There is no reason for delay.”

Starmer flew to Washington for talks with U.S. President Biden on Friday to discuss President Zelensky’s request for permission to use UK-made missiles. British media insiders report that the 90-minute discussions at the White House were “very open” regarding the “choices ahead of us.”

However, Biden and his team indicated that they prefer to wait until Zelensky presents his “victory plan” before making further decisions.

Read also: U.S. President Joe Biden met with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House.