General Sir Richard Shirreff says Britain should have gifted tanks to Ukraine “months ago”

Former Nato commander, General Sir Richard Shirreff says Britain should have gifted tanks to Ukraine “months ago”, Qazet.az reports according to TheGuardian.

Commenting on the news that Britain is considering sending Challenger-2 tanks to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia, Shirreff told LBC’s Nick Ferrari that “I think we should call Putin’s bluff over escalation.”

He added: “The one thing the Russians respect is strength. And that has always been the case with Russia. Overmatch the Russians, and they will back off.

“So I think rather than be worried about escalation, I think we should escalate more, we should give more capability to Ukrainians, because the more we give them, the quicker we give them, the quicker this thing will be over.”

Responding to questions about whether the tanks were too late, he said: “This is tardy. These tanks should have been gifted months ago.

“We should have been working hard to give the Ukrainians all armed capability they need for offensive manoeuvre, right from the start of the war. So it has taken too long, but I guess it’s a case of better late than never.”