Ben Wallace said Britain would also send air and coastal defense systems and armored vehicles, as well as training and logistics. “We are stepping up our coordination to strengthen this military support and to ensure that Ukraine’s armed forces become stronger as they continue to repel Russian forces,” the defense minister said on Thursday. It came as a senior Foreign Ministry official said Britain needed a national effort to bolster its nuclear weapons program following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. David Williams, the Permanent Secretary of the United Nations, said Britain’s nuclear deterrent was “broader than defense”. “We must increasingly see this as a national effort,” Mr Williams said. “This includes other government departments, our industrial partners and even important relationships with international partners, especially the United States.” Speaking with Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the Chief of Staff, Williams said “Russia’s nuclear rhetoric is clearly worrying.” Vladimir Putin has used reports of nuclear weapons to try to intimidate the West. Mr Williams said the escalation of the nuclear escalation “does not discourage the West, either individually or multilaterally, from doing what we want it to do, whether it is strengthening NATO’s eastern side or supporting Ukraine.” “Whether it is an escalation attempt or a nuclear blackmail, I do not think it works at the moment. I do not think Putin’s nuclear stand has any practical effect. “The resurgence of state competition underscores for me the importance of UK nuclear deterrence and I think we have a clearer assessment of our role as a nuclear weapons state than we may have had for some time.” Britain’s nuclear deterrent is upgrading significantly over the next decade. The current four nuclear-armed Vanguard-class submarines will be replaced by an equal number of Dreadnought-class vessels, and new missiles and warheads will also be purchased. It is considered one of the most complex ventures that an industrial country can undertake.
