Three UK PMs refused weapon pleas from Ukraine over fears of provoking Putin

'There was no logic whatsoever'

Three UK Prime Ministers are said to have refused to give Ukraine military aid over a period of seven years, citing Russian retaliation as the reason. Speaking to the Sunday Times, former defence secretary Michael Fallon accused three former PMs of refusing to give Ukraine aid on numerous occasions. Serving under David Cameron in 2014, as Russia annexed part of Ukraine known as Crimea, Fallon was allegedly told to turn down requests from the Ukrainian military who were seeking "to do more" and upgrade their firepower. [caption id="attachment_331549" align="alignnone" width="2048"]

Former defence secretary Michael Fallon/Via Getty[/caption] “We were stymied and we were blocked in cabinet from sending the Ukrainians the arms they needed,” he said. “Some in the cabinet felt extremely strongly that we should do nothing to further provoke Russia. He added: “I felt that was absurd. The Russians didn't need any provoking. They were already there, sending people across the border.” Another former defence secretary, Liam Fox, also spoke on Cameron's failure to arm Ukraine back in 2015. “It was very clear what [Putin’s] pattern of behaviour was and it was very clear that Ukraine would be next," the backbencher said. “There was no logic whatsoever in saying, ‘Well, we can’t give the Ukrainians the ability to defend themselves in case of provoking Putin’.” [caption id="attachment_331550" align="alignnone" width="2048"]

Via Getty[/caption] Ukraine was "desperate" to buy weapons from the UK and "wanted almost everything" according to Fallon. "At times they had little more than rifles,” he added. While the UK was not prepared to assist Ukraine, they were happy to sign £6.7 billion worth of arms to Saudi Arabia. According to the Independent, since the autocracy began bombing Yemen in 2015, investigators said the number is more like £20 billion.