UK-US pressure on Russia: Will the '50-day campaign' force President Putin to the negotiating table?
British Defense Secretary John Healey is expected to call on pro-Ukrainian parties to launch a "50-day campaign" to arm Kiev, according to local media.
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The plan follows US President Donald Trump's threat to impose secondary sanctions on Russia's trading partners within 50 days if there is no progress in resolving the conflict.
Mr Healey is expected to make the call when he chairs a virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG) on July 21. The minister is also ready to back Mr Trump's plan and pledge British support to "intensify Ukraine's immediate fight".
He is expected to say: "The United States has begun a 50-day countdown to Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to peace or face crippling economic sanctions... We must intensify our response with a '50-day campaign' to arm Ukraine on the battlefield and force Putin to the negotiating table."
Earlier this month, Mr Trump imposed a 50-day ceasefire on Russia, warning of “very severe” new sanctions, including 100% “secondary tariffs” on countries that buy Russian oil. He also announced new arms deliveries to Ukraine, noting that the EU would foot the bill.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Mr Trump's remarks "will be perceived by the Ukrainian side not as a signal towards peace, but as a signal to continue the war".
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov stressed that Moscow would not give in to any ultimatums but kept the door open for negotiations.
While Britain has been one of Ukraine's staunchest supporters, Luke Pollard, the country's minister of state for the armed forces, warned last fall of depleting stockpiles from years of military aid.
Moscow has repeatedly condemned Western arms deliveries to Ukraine, warning that they only prolong the conflict without changing its outcome. Russia has also accused the EU and Britain of hindering ongoing peace efforts.
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed concern on July 19 about what he described as the British public's declining interest in the Ukraine conflict, adding that the current government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer was "distracted" by "a lot of domestic issues".
