The West’s latest boost of support for Ukraine in its war against Vladimir Putin has come “too little too late,” according to the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats.
The US and the UK finally authorised Kyiv to use their long-range missiles to attack targets within Russia earlier this week.
It came months after Ukraine first started asking for permission to use the advanced arsenal to go on the offensive with Russia.
Putin threatened to bomb the UK last night as a result, having already used a ballistic missile against Ukraine the night before.
But, shortly before the Russian president’s latest warning, the BBC Question Time host Fiona Bruce asked the show’s panel they thought this support had come “too little, too late” in the war.
Lib Dem MP Daisy Cooper said: “I do. I feel as though we’ve been behind, since the beginning we’ve been behind.
“We have been helping Ukraine – not just the UK but the west as a whole – but we have been slow to act.
“We have acted, we’ve given them enough to keep going, but at the moment, it’s not enough to help Ukraine win the war.”
Pressed if she believes Ukraine can even win the war, Cooper said yes, but only if the £20bn of frozen Russian assets in the UK are utilised.
She added: “We think there’s a further £20bn around the rest of Europe. If we can get those assets to Ukraine and help them for their war, then yes, they could [win].
“But if we don’t do that, it’s really not worth thinking what the consequences are.”
Bruce suggested taking those assets “could be the thing that possibly triggers World War 3”.
But Cooper replied: “Putin is a nuclear bully. He will continue to make threats about whether he’s going to use nuclear weapons or escalate.”
She said Ukraine’s allies cannot “capitulate”, otherwise Putin will go into the rest of Ukraine and he will “carry on throughout Europe”.
“We have to stand firm with Ukraine, we have to show leadership,” she said.