Cabinet minister Oliver Dowden pressures France and Germany to increase their help

Cabinet minister Oliver Dowden has put pressure on France and Germany to increase their help for Ukraine, as he told Paris and Berlin: ‘It would be good to see more’.

The Conservative Party chairman called on Western nations to ‘continue to tighten the ratchet on Russia’ following Vladimir Putin‘s barbaric assault on Ukraine.

He said this could be through more military kit being sent to Kyiv, an increase in aid, or a tightening of sanctions against the Kremlin regime.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky told a press conference in Kyiv on Saturday that the UK, along with the US, was supplying the ‘biggest military aid’ as he attempts to hold off Russia’s war machine.

In a phone call with Mr Johnson this weekend, the Ukrainian leader also thanked the PM for the training of Ukrainian military personnel currently taking place in Britain.

And Mr Johnson confirmed the UK would provide more armoured vehicles, drones and anti-tank weapons to Kyiv.

Speaking to Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday show, Mr Dowden said Britain was stepping up its assistance to Ukraine as the war enters a third month.

Asked if he would like to see other European nations, such as France and Germany, increase their support, Mr Dowden said: ‘Yes, I would and I think we’ve had very positive noises from France and Germany.

‘But I would like to see further action from them. It is actually heartening that the US is continuing to step up its support for Ukraine, I think their military support has reached over £2billion.’

Pressed on whether he thought France and Germany were lagging behind the contributions of the US and UK, the Cabinet minister added: ‘Well, I would like to see more but the Prime Minister is engaging on precisely that point

‘Earlier this week he had a call not only with President Biden but also President Macron and the leaders of other countries such as Germany.

‘So I think there’s a desire for us all to do it but it would be good to see more from France and Germany as well, yes.’

Oliver Dowden called on Western nations to ‘continue to tighten the ratchet on Russia’ following Vladimir Putin’s barbaric assault on Ukraine

The Cabinet minister said it ‘would be good to see more’ from French President Emmanuel Macron (left) and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky told a press conference in Kyiv on Saturday that the UK, along with the US, was supplying the ‘biggest military aid’

Mr Putin has been forced to redeploy his troops to eastern Ukraine – after they failed to capture Kyiv and other parts of the country in the first phase of Russia’s invasion attempt.

But, despite the fierce ongoing resistance of Ukrainians, Mr Dowden reiterated Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s belief that Moscow could yet be victorious.

Speaking on his recent visit to India, the PM admitted a Russian victory was a ‘realistic possibility’ as he warned that Mr Putin was determined to ‘grind the Ukrainians down’.

Asked what had influenced Mr Johnson’s remarks, Mr Dowden told the BBC’s Sunday Morning programme: ‘What I think we are seeing is both changing Russia tactics, so Russia concentrating on the east of Ukraine, and a Russian determination to keep on going and going.

‘That’s why I think it is really important that we need to continue to tighten the ratchet on Russia, whether that’s, for example, the 120 armoured personnel carriers that the Prime Minister agreed with Zelensky just last week or whether it is continuing to increase aid and tighten our sanctions.

‘So, the West has to respond in turn and we are willing to do so.’

Mr Zelensky told reporters at a press conference on Saturday that Ukraine wanted ‘more than we’re being given’ when it came to Western help, but added: ‘We’re satisfied.’

‘We cannot refuse or reject anything during the war from the biggest military aid, which is coming from the United States and the United Kingdom,’ he said.

‘There are many other friends in Europe, but I’m talking about volumes of help and I’m grateful for it.’