Rishi Sunak will urge allies to give Ukraine more guns as world leaders meet to plot Putin’s defeat

RISHI Sunak will today urge allies to give Ukraine more guns as world leaders gather to plot the defeat of Vladimir Putin.

The prime minister is to tell Western leaders at a military conference that “now is the moment to double military support” for President Zelenskyy.

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He will point to £2.3 billion in British support, surpassed only by the US, including main battle tanks and missiles.

It comes amid fears Putin is planning an offensive on the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion on Friday.

Calling on other leaders in Munich to increase arms supplies, Mr. Sunak will say: “When Putin started this war, he bet that our resolve would falter.

“He’s already counting on us losing our nerve.

“But we proved him wrong then and we will prove him wrong now.”

The prime minister has defied calls to send British military planes, but Ukrainian pilots are due to train in the UK from the spring.

Instead, Secretary of Defense Ben Wallace is exploring the possibility of supplying our Typhoon jets in the future.

Ukrainian pilots will begin training in the UK from spring.

In his speech, Mr Sunak will also advocate a NATO charter to “protect Ukraine from future Russian aggression”.

He will say: “We must do more to strengthen Ukraine’s long-term security.

“We must give them the advanced NATO-standard capabilities they need for the future.

“And we must show that we will stand by their side, willing and able to help them defend their country time and time again.”

At the conference, Mr. Sunak will meet allies including US Vice President Kamala Harris.

And he will strike: “What is at stake in this war is even greater than a nation’s security and sovereignty.

“It’s about the security and sovereignty of every nation.

“Because Russia’s invasion, its heinous war crimes and irresponsible nuclear rhetoric are symptomatic of a broader threat to everything we believe in.”