UK, French foreign ministers urge to prevent defeat of Ukraine

British Foreign Minister David Cameron and his French counterpart Stéphane Séjourné warned that Ukraine's defeat in the conflict with Russia could be regarded as a defeat for the West.

The two ministers reported this in a column for The Telegraph newspaper.

"We are both very clear: Ukraine must win this conflict. If Ukraine loses, we will all lose," the article says.

The heads of the two ministries also said that France and the United Kingdom intend to confirm Kyiv's "unwavering" support. It is planned to do this at the summit of the European Political Community in July. The Western countries, according to the ministers, must do "even more" to defeat Russia.

“Together, France and Britain will reaffirm our unwavering support for Ukraine at the European Political Community Summit, to be held at Blenheim Palace in July. We will also ensure a productive NATO summit in Washington this summer.

We are both absolutely clear: Ukraine must win this war. If Ukraine loses, we all lose. The costs of failing to support Ukraine now will be far greater than the costs of repelling Putin.

Britain and France are proud of the support we have provided to Ukraine, from unprecedented sanctions to co-ordinated deliveries of the first long-range missile systems, Scalp and Storm Shadow. Just last month, the first Ukrainian pilots graduated from training with the Royal Air Force to start training with the Armée de l’air et de l’espace, as part of a programme to build up Ukraine’s ability to fly modern F-16 fighter jets.

But as discussed during the Paris Conference in February, we must do even more to ensure we defeat Russia. The world is watching – and will judge us if we fail.

We must also continue to co-operate on other global challenges.”

“We are partners in the fight against terrorism and extremism. Even as we condemn Putin’s war of aggression in Ukraine, we have expressed solidarity with the Russian people after the horrific violence inflicted by Islamic State at Crocus City Hall.

And we must be unwavering in our critical work on tackling climate change and developing carbon-free energy systems,” the article notes.