Vladimir Putin is now 'unlikely to ever succeed' in occupying Ukraine

Vladimir Putin is now ‘unlikely to ever succeed’ in occupying Ukraine, Ben Wallace says as MoD commits to sending more guided missiles to help beat back Russian invaders

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace says Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has ‘faltered’
He also described Russia’s huge losses of both personnel and military equipment
Mr Wallace was speaking at a conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Thursday
It comes as the Britain has pledged further military and financial aid to Ukraine
UK has pledged multiple-launch rocket systems and precision guided missiles

Vladimir Putin is now ‘unlikely to ever succeed’ in occupying Ukraine, Ben Wallace has said, as Britain pledged more financial and military support for the country.

The Defence Secretary said Russia’s invasion has ‘faltered’ and is ‘starting to fail in many areas’ as he co-hosted a conference of donors in Copenhagen on Thursday.

He also described huge losses of both personnel and military equipment it has suffered in the near six months since Putin launched a ‘special military operation’ on February 24.

Mr Wallace said: ‘They have failed so far and are unlikely to ever succeed in occupying Ukraine.

‘Their invasion has faltered and constantly been remodified to the extent they are really only focusing in parts of the south and in the east, a long, long way away from their three-day so-called special operation.

‘Three days are now over 150 days and nearly six months in, with huge significant losses of both equipment and indeed Russian personnel.’

The UK has pledged to send multiple-launch rocket systems to Ukraine, as well as precision guided missiles which can strike targets up to 50 miles away – designed to defend against Russian heavy artillery.

Mr Wallace continued: ‘President Putin will have gambled that come August, come a few months in, we will have all got bored of the conflict and the international community would have gone off in different directions.

‘Well, today is proof of the opposite.

‘We have come out of this meeting with more pledges of finance, more pledges of training and more pledges of military aid, all designed to help Ukraine win, to help Ukraine stand up for its sovereignty and indeed to ensure that President Putin’s ambitions fail in Ukraine as they rightly should.’

In other developments Thursday:

Burial services were held for 11 more unidentified bodies found in Bucha, the town outside the Ukrainian capital that saw hundreds of people slaughtered under Russian occupation early in the war.
The governments of Ukraine and Russia traded more accusations over which side was responsible for shelling the territory of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres appealed to Moscow and Kyiv to stop military action around Europe’s largest nuclear plant to avoid a catastrophe.
The EU’s ban on coal imports from Russia took effect following a long phase-in that started in April.
And in perhaps the most symbolic example of give and take on Thursday, McDonald’s announced plans to start reopening some of its restaurants in Ukraine in the coming months.
Looking beyond a hoped-for return to peace, Scholz said Germany was working with the EU to develop plans for the reconstruction of Ukraine.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said Russia’s invasion has ‘faltered’ and is ‘starting to fail in many areas’

Russian President Vladimir Putin pictured during a meeting via videoconference on Thursday

Mr Wallace pictured as he speaks during after hosting a donor conference, together with Ukrainian and Danish defence ministers

Ukrainian civilians take part in military training in the Lviv region of western Ukraine earlier this month

British, New Zealand (and Ukrainian soldiers with a Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System as they conduct artillery training in the UK

Satellite pictures show Crimea airbase after blast that ‘destroyed up to 20 of Putin’s warplanes’

Startling new satellite images have showcased the extent of the damage at a Russian air force base in Crimea after devastating explosions ravaged the site on Tuesday afternoon.

The broken and charred remains of several Russian fighter jets can be seen in the aftermath of the blasts which are believed to have damaged up to 20 aircraft and demolished ammunition storage facilities.

The broken and charred remains of several Russian fighter jets at the air base

Russia denied any aircraft were damaged in Tuesday’s blasts – or that any attack took place.

More explosions were then reported last night at Zyabrovka airbase in the Homiel region of southern Belarus just 20 miles from the northern Ukrainian border, which has also been used by the Russian air force.

Again, officials tried to downplay the blasts – saying they were an accident caused by an aircraft engine fire.

But photos of the Saki base in Crimea published by US-based satellite imaging company Planet Labs PBC clearly showed at least seven fighter planes had been obliterated in what is widely thought to have been a Ukrainian strike.

Ukrainian officials stopped short of publicly claiming responsibility for the explosions, but confirmed at least nine planes had been destroyed and mocked Russia’s explanation that a careless smoker might have caused ammunition at the Saki air base to catch fire and blow up.

If Ukrainian forces were, in fact, responsible for the blasts, it would be the first known major attack on a Russian military site on the Crimean Peninsula, which the Kremlin annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

Mr Wallace’s remarks come as Denmark has joined the UK in offering more aid to Ukraine.

Germany, earlier seen to be reluctant in giving full tangible support to Ukraine, is also making what Chancellor Olaf Scholz describes as a ‘massive’ break with its past by sending weapons to the war-torn country.

But Mr Wallace revealed that allies will soon need to start purchasing weapons from other countries or ‘placing orders in factories to increase ammo supply to Ukraine’ as their own reserve stocks are depleted.

He added: ‘Our continued support sends a very clear message: Britain and the international community remain opposed to this illegal war and will stand shoulder-to-shoulder, providing defensive military aid to Ukraine to help them defend against Putin’s invasion.’

Ukrainian troops have been trained in the UK on how to use the launchers.

Britain has also committed to training a further 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers in infantry battlefield skills over the coming months.

Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands have all announced they will be supporting the programme.

Meanwhile, Mr Scholz said Germany ‘is shipping arms – a great, great many, sweeping and very effective’ and ‘will continue to do so in the coming time’.

Germany has also approved military exports of at least $710 million and plans to provide further financial aid to Ukraine, the chancellor said.

Speaking at the conference, Danish Prime Minister vowed ‘we will not let you down’ in a show of continued support for the eastern European country.

Denmark said a new contribution of $113m would push the total amount of funding from the country of 5.8m to over $500m.

The UK has previously supplied Ukraine with various weapons, including the NLAW anti-tank missile launcher, which was considered instrumental in the initial defence against Moscow’s invasion.

The show of support for Ukraine came as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking by videoconference to the meeting of donors, pleaded for more aid.

He said: ‘The sooner we stop Russia, the sooner we can feel safe.’

The UK has said Russia is already strained by the need to produced armoured vehicles for its soldiers in Ukraine.

A Ministry of Defence update has highlighted ‘the increasing effect of Western sanctions’ on the Russian economy, with its ‘military industrial capacity is now under significant strain’.

The report added that ‘the credibility of many of its weapon systems has been undermined by their association with Russian forces’ poor performance’.

Workers pictured placing a body of one of the unidentified persons who were killed during the Russian occupation of Bucha

A worker rests during the mass burial of unidentified people who were killed in the Bucha district of Ukraine

Russia is already contending with reports that troops are refusing to fight and instead opting to quit the military, with covert recruitment efforts said to be underway to make up for shortages.

It comes as startling new satellite images have showcased the extent of the damage at a Russian air force base in Crimea after devastating explosions ravaged the site on Tuesday afternoon.

Russia denied any aircraft were damaged in Tuesday’s blasts – or that any attack took place.

But more explosions were then reported on Wednesday at Zyabrovka airbase in the Homiel region of southern Belarus just 20 miles from the northern Ukrainian border, which has also been used by the Russian air force.

Russia tried to explain away the air strikes, including referring to a wayward cigarette but, but the explanations were described as ‘excuses’ by Mr Wallace.

He said: ‘When you just look at the footage of two simultaneous explosions not quite next to each other, and some of the reported damage even by the Russian authorities, I think it’s clear that that’s not something that happens by someone dropping a cigarette.’

Citizens inspect the damaged settlements after Russian rocket strike in the Kharkiv region on Thursday

The damage is pictured after a Russian shell hit a yard in a central residential area affecting an office building and the balconies and windows of a five-storey apartment block in Kharkiv

Ukrainian forces launched a counter-offensive in the south of the country to recapture 54 settlements in the Kherson region on Thursday.

The region had previously been overrun by Russian forces in the early days of the war.

Speaking on Ukrainian television, Kherson governor Yaroslav Yanushevych accused the Kremlin of shelling the areas it lost in retaliation.

He said Russia was creating a ‘catastrophic’ humanitarian situation in towns and villages along the region’s northern boundary.

To the east of Ukraine, the country’s forces say they have repelled attacks around the city of Bakhmut in Donetsk – said to be a key target for Russia.

The military has also said it has halted similar attacks near the cities of Kramatorsk and Avdiivka, both also in the region.

In his nightly video address, Zelensky urged Ukrainians not to divulge details about the country’s military operations.

He said: ‘If you want victory for Ukraine, then that’s another matter, and you should feel your responsibility for every word you say about what our state is preparing in terms of defense or counter-offensives.’

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