Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper says the UK is “ready to act” after Donald Trump urged NATO countries to shoot down intruding Russian planes.
Ms Cooper called out Moscow for its “provocative and reckless” violations of NATO air space in recent weeks during a speech to the United Nations in New York.
It came as Trump struck a dramatically different tone on Ukraine to previous calls for Kyiv to make concessions by insisting the country can win back all territory it has lost to Russia.
The US President posted on social media soon after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly gathering of world leaders.
“I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form,” he wrote.
“With time, patience, and the financial support of Europe and, in particular, NATO, the original Borders from where this War started, is very much an option.”
Ms Cooper told the United Nations Security Council meeting on Tuesday: “Ukraine’s security is our security, and all of us depend on upholding the UN Charter.
“Russia’s actions seek to undermine democracy, secure conflict and spread instability far beyond Europe’s borders.
“In recent weeks, we’ve seen provocative and reckless violations of NATO air space in Estonia, Poland and Romania, against which NATO stands firm, and we will be ready to act.”
NATO has said it will respond to Russian aerial incursions with “military and non-military tools”.
In a statement, the alliance condemned the incursion by three MiG-31 jets on Friday, describing it as “part of a wider pattern of increasingly irresponsible Russian behaviour”.
NATO warned: “Russia should be in no doubt: Nato and allies will employ, in accordance with international law, all necessary military and non-military tools to defend ourselves and deter all threats from all directions.”
Mr Zelensky said he was surprised by Trump’s latest comments on the war and described it as a positive step.
In an interview with Fox News anchor Bret Baier, he said: “President Trump was more positive in it, and he showed that he wants to support Ukraine to the very end.
“I was very positive about signals from the side that Trump and America will be with us to the end of the war.”
On Tuesday evening, former prime minister Boris Johnson said the UK and its allies lack “the will and the leadership and the sense of urgency” to do more to help Ukraine.
He asked why frozen Russian assets are still not being used to fund the war effort, why the UK is still buying uranium from Russia, why it has not sanctioned Russian energy company Rosneft and why it has not imposed secondary sanctions on those still buying hydrocarbons from Russia.
Mr Johnson said: “I’ll tell you why. It’s because we’re still apprehensive about the consequences, and because we still fundamentally lack the will and the leadership and the sense of urgency to get this done.”
