UK is doing more to help Ukraine than the US, says John Bolton

Britain has done more than the US in helping Ukraine resist Russia’s invasion, John Bolton, the former White House national security adviser, will declare on Tuesday.

Speaking at the launch of a new report on Britain’s role in the world after Brexit, Mr Bolton will cite UK military backing of Kyiv as evidence that its departure from the EU has restored its scope for independent action on the world stage.

"Britain has taken a leading role in the West’s efforts to defeat this aggression and to make the point to would-be aggressors around the world," he will say.

"In many respects, I say with some envy, taking a stronger and more effective view than the US."

It came as the former head of the British Armed Forces warned against cuts to military spending, and urged leaders to buy more American weapons to backfill those donated to Ukraine.

The UK has pledged more than £1.3 billion in support to Ukraine, including more than 5,000 NLAW anti-tank missiles, long-range multiple launch rocket systems, and artillery systems including 155mm Self Propelled Guns.

The US committed around £4.3 billion in security assistance since the beginning of Joe Biden's administration, including 6,500 Javelin anti-armour systems, 108 155mm Howitzers and 20 Mi-17 helicopters.

Britain has donated about 0.18 per cent of its GDP in weapons, while the US has sent the equivalent of 0.22 per cent.

Before the Russian invasion on February 24, the US president was criticised for suggesting a "minor incursion" by Russia might not merit a strong international response. He has subsequently accused the Kremlin of carrying out a "genocide" and described Russian President Vladimir Putin as a "dictator".

Boris Johnson paid his second visit to Kyiv on Friday and offered to launch a major training operation for Ukrainian forces, with the potential to train up to 10,000 soldiers every 120 days during a meeting with President Zelensky.

Mr Biden is yet to visit the Ukrainian capital, and on Monday ruled out a trip on his up-coming visit to Europe. However, he told reporters that he speaks with the Ukrainian president "three to four times a week".

General Lord Dannatt, the head of the British Army from 2006 to 2009, told The Telegraph on Monday that cuts to defence spending could jeopardise victory over Russia in a long war in Europe.

"Our land capability is not credible, and would not be seen by the Kremlin as being a sufficient deterrent," he said, adding that "at the very least planned cuts to the size of the Army should be reduced".

He was joined in that demand by Tobias Ellwood, the Conservative MP and chair of the Defence Select Committee, who told The Telegraph: "All three services are now too small to manage the ever-greater burden we place on them."

Both men were speaking after Gen Sir Patrick Sanders, the new Chief of the General Staff, wrote a memo to soldiers and civil servants warning that they must be "capable of beating Russia in battle".

Under current plans, the Army will shrink from its current target manpower of 82,000 troops to just 72,500 by 2025.

It will also have its number of main battle tanks slashed from 227 to 148, although the remaining vehicles will be thoroughly upgraded.

Those decisions followed the 2021 Integrated Review which looked to update Britain’s foreign and defence policy and recommended a shift in focus toward the Indo-Pacific.

While the Government announced a £16.5 billion boost to defence spending in 2020, the tilt towards the Indo-Pacific has meant a renewed emphasis on naval and air power with Britain’s land forces left behind, said Lord Dannatt.

That call was echoed by Mr Ellwood, a former Army captain, who added that the integrated review "is now out of date, as is the peacetime defence budget of 2.2 per cent".

The need to be able to fight a major land war in Europe would also have significant implications for the equipment that the UK buys.

Lord Dannatt told The Telegraph that the war in Ukraine, with its emphasis on heavy artillery and armour, should push Britain to rebuild its so-called legacy capabilities.

The very equipment that the UK is sending to Ukraine to help it fight the Russians is precisely what Britain was lacking, he said.