Putin is ‘very secure in his job’ Western ‘timidity’ allowing Russia to continue fighting

Putin is ‘very secure in his job’ says Tobias Ellwood

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As Ukraine prepares for another wave of fighting in the eastern regions of the nation, Tobias Ellwood MP accused the West of “timidity” in the face of Putin. The chair of the Defence Select Committee, a former soldier himself, said the West has “so much more” to do in the fight against the Russians, adding that the fight in Odesa is critical to the entire war.

Speaking to Sky News, Ellwood said: “Putin is very secure in his job. He’s not scared of any war crimes. He’s not scared of breaching the Geneva Conventions.

“In fact, he has taken advantage of the West’s timidity. We have given him space to conduct these horrors and that needs to stop.”

Looking ahead, the former soldier added: “We must brace ourselves for more horrors to be revealed, more war crimes to be exposed as Russian troops withdraw.

“This is far from over and there is another dark chapter soon to follow. There’s so much more we need to do.

Referring to NATO’s reluctance to offer any form of offensive weaponry to Ukraine for fear of provoking Russia, Ellwood said: “We continue to leave Ukraine to do all the heavy lifting.

“We need to provide greater weapons systems and frankly stop having daft arguments about whether weapons systems are indeed defensive or offensive.”

Britain is considering sending armoured vehicles to Ukraine by way of more “lethal aid”, it was announced yesterday, but defence secretary Ben Wallace has said that they will not send tanks.

The Czech Republic are the only NATO member to have sent tanks, a decision that was carried out earlier this week with the permission of the organisation.

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Ukraine has made several stark warnings about the upcoming fighting in the eastern regions of the country, with foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba warning that “many people will die”.

And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday accused the Russian state and military of being the “biggest threat to freedom” in existence.

Ellwood said that the next few days of fighting will be vital to the outcome of the war and that it was imperative western forces helped Ukraine prevent Putin from being “able to declare a win”.

He said: “Odesa is a critical port in the south. If that falls, Ukraine will become landlocked… and Putin will be able to declare a win.”

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Greece’s Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias visited Black Sea port of Odesa on Sunday to establish a regular flow of aid from his country into Ukraine, while bombs continued to fall in the area.  

The city of one million people has come under fire as Russia redeploy their troops in the south and east of Ukraine. 

Greece has a long-standing history with both Odesa and Mariupol, where a number of Greek diasporas have relocated.

“The reopening of [Greece’s] consulate will help distribute humanitarian aid and set up corridors for the Greek ethnic community to leave from any areas of Ukraine, if needed, via Odesa,” Dendias said upon arrival

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