UK Won’t Be Deterred by Putin’s Nuclear Threats, National Security Adviser Says

Sir Tim Barrow (L), national security adviser for the UK, leaves 10 Downing Street following a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in London, on Feb. 8, 2023. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)

The UK will not be deterred from supporting Ukraine by Russia’s nuclear threats and will push back against “reckless escalation language,” national security adviser Sir Tim Barrow said on Wednesday.

Speaking to lawmakers at a National Security Strategy Joint Committee hearing, Barrow said allies need to ramp up support for Ukraine so it can defend itself and win on the battlefield, which he said is “an essential part of any strategy which gets us to peace.”

It comes after Russia last week unilaterally suspended its participation in the last remaining nuclear arms control pact with the United States. President Vladimir Putin on Sunday also accused the West of wanting to destroy Russia, saying Russia has to take into account the nuclear capabilities of Britain and France, which are both NATO members.

Asked if the West’s support for Ukraine is constrained by fears of Russian escalation, Barrow said the UK and its allies have been clear that they will support Ukraine by giving it the means to defend itself.

Noting that he assumed the question was referring to “nuclear escalations or language,” Barrow said the “reckless language” from the Kremlin “has no place” and will not deter the UK from supporting Ukraine in its defence.

“We are not going to be deterred. We are going to be very clear about our support for Ukraine. And we are going to ourselves call out and push back on reckless escalation language.”

He added that the UK is not the only one taking such a stance.

“Let’s be clear, I think that we can see that many partners around the world made the same points. I think that the voices of Indian colleagues and the like have been equally clear.”

Barrow told the committee that the West wants to end the conflict as soon as possible, but he doesn’t see signs that Moscow wishes the same.

Defence Committee Chair Tobias Ellwood speaking to the media on College Green outside the Houses of Parlliament, London, on July 7, 2022. (Dominic Lipinski/PA Media)

He agreed with comments by Defence Committee Chair Tobias Ellwood that Ukraine needs to gain terrain in order to avoid future flare ups of Russian aggression, saying a frozen conflict is “not in anyone’s interest.”

He also said that a victory would not only send a message to Russia, but “others could contemplate.”

“I think we need to be being absolutely clear that Ukraine needs to have the means to defend itself and needs to be able to succeed on the battlefield as a prelude—and also with diplomatic and economic support to them—as a prelude to, if we can, finding a negotiated end to this conflict,” Barrow said, adding it means the UK needs to accelerate its aid.

But the national security adviser brushed off the suggestion of inviting Ukraine to join the Joint Expeditionary Force—a UK-led defence alliance that includes Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Norway, saying the focus at the moment is ensuring Ukraine gets the support they need on the battlefield.

Asked for his thoughts on whether the conflict could turn into a “full proxy war” with the Chinese regime arming Russia, following Beijing’s attempt to position itself as an independent arbitrator, Barrow said it “would be extremely damaging and would be the wrong decision for anyone including China to be supplying weapons to Russia in this terrible and misguided invasion.”

Conservative MP Alicia Kearns, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, speaks during a debate on the Procurement Bill in Parliament, Westminster, London, on Jan. 9, 2023. (Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Alicia Kearns criticised some British allies for wanting to “hide behind the fact that they truly seem to believe that defence is somehow an escalation,” saying, “Defense is never an escalation.”

New START Treaty

The United States and Russia are believed to account for roughly 90 percent of the world’s existing nuclear warheads.

Moscow last week suspended its participation in the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty with the United States, which limited the number of warheads each can have.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the move as “unfortunate and irresponsible.”

“We’ll be watching carefully to see what Russia actually does,” Blinken told reporters. “We’ll, of course, make sure that in any event we are postured appropriately for the security of our own country and that of our allies.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that it would not resume START participation unless Washington listens to Moscow’s position.

Peskov told the daily Izvestia that the “attitude of the collective West” led by the United States needs to change towards Moscow.

He also said that by arming Ukraine, NATO “acts as a single bloc no longer as our conditional opponents, but as enemies.”

U.S. President Joe Biden last week rejected Putin’s claim that the West wants to destroy Russia.

“The United States and the nations of Europe do not seek to control or destroy Russia. The West was not plotting to attack Russia, as Putin said today,” Biden said. “And millions of Russian citizens who only want to live in peace with their neighbors are not the enemy.”

Adam Morrow contributed to this report.