British defense minister Ben Wallace said on Monday he would be “open minded” about supplying Ukraine with longer-range weapons systems if Russia carried on targeting civilian areas.
Speaking to parliament, Wallace was asked by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a vocal supporter of Ukraine, about the possible supply of longer-range missile systems to Kyiv to destroy or damage drone launch sites.
“I constantly review the weapons systems we could provide,” Wallace told parliament.
“We too have in our armour potential weapons systems that are longer and should the Russians continue to target civilian areas and try and break those Geneva Conventions, then I will be open minded to see what we do next,” he said, referring to agreed basic humanitarian principles during war.
Ukraine has accused Russia of using “kamikaze” drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, to hit energy infrastructure and other targets.
Britain has committed 3.8 billion pounds of support for Ukraine since February this year, including the supply of weapons, military training and humanitarian assistance.
Rishi Sunak visited Kyiv in one of his first foreign visits since becoming British prime minister in October, hoping to cement Johnson’s promise that British support for Ukraine would be steadfast regardless of the leader.
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