'Everyone can see the reality' in Ukraine except for Putin, UK defense minister says

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British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy shingle hands aft a meeting, arsenic Russia's onslaught connected Ukraine continues, successful Kyiv, Ukraine June 10, 2022.

Ukrainian Presidential Press Service | Reuters

British Defense Minister Ben Wallace connected Friday said Vladimir Putin is "at hazard of losing everything" if Russia does not retreat its forces from Ukraine.

In a engaged week for diplomacy, European leaders met successful Moldova successful caller days for the European Political Community summit, attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. NATO overseas ministers besides met successful Oslo to sermon short-term assistance to Ukraine successful its defence against the Russian invasion, arsenic good arsenic a semipermanent program for Ukraine's imaginable rank of the subject alliance.

Defense ministers from astir the satellite gathered successful Singapore connected Friday for the Shangri-La Dialogue Defense Summit. On its sidelines, Wallace told CNBC that the Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles precocious supplied by the U.K. had fixed a "boost" to the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

He added that portion determination is nary "magic bullet," the British authorities sees Ukraine gaining momentum.

"Russia, we spot nether continued unit — it's moving retired of stocks. I deliberation the reckless and amerciable usage of targeting captious nationalist infrastructure, civilian areas, is really a motion of desperation, it's not a motion of spot by the Russian regime, and truthful I'm optimistic for the future," Wallace told CNBC's Sri Jegarajah.

The Ukrainian superior Kyiv suffered aerial bombardment this week, though Russia denies specifically targeting civilians. Russian strikes person been documented against aggregate hospitals, schools and theatres successful assorted regions of Ukraine since the opening of the penetration successful February 2022. Last month, the UN estimated that much than 24,000 non-combatants had died implicit the past 15 months.

Moscow was meantime deed by drone strikes earlier this week, with President Vladimir Putin claiming the attacks targeted Russian civilians, portion the country's overseas ministry vowed to respond with "the harshest imaginable measures."

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Speaking to reporters extracurricular the EPC gathering successful Moldova connected Thursday, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said that the conflict volition lone cease if Ukraine wins, adding that "Russia tin halt this warfare earlier, they tin spell retired to their autarkic territory from our territory."

Wallace echoed this sentiment, suggesting that the lone way to bid was for Russia to extremity its penetration and retreat troops from Ukrainian territory — a telephone improbable to beryllium heeded successful Moscow.

"I deliberation it's truly important that Russia understands that if it wants to extract itself from not lone planetary isolation, but besides what it's been doing successful Ukraine, it needs to commencement that process of leaving," Wallace said.

"Everyone tin spot the world — but perchance President Putin — that they've mislaid 250,000 men of their equipped forces, killed oregon injured, they've mislaid implicit 10,000 armored vehicles, they're successful a atrocious state."

He besides alluded to the "frictions exploding" wrong the Russian governmental and subject apparatus. Yevgeny Prigozhin, person of Russian mercenary contractor Wagner Group and erstwhile adjacent state of President Vladimir Putin, has launched scathing nationalist attacks connected the Kremlin's warfare efforts arsenic the radical suffered dense losses successful Ukraine.

"I deliberation the world is hopefully dawning connected the Russian system, and I deliberation the archetypal measurement to bid is withdrawing those forces," Wallace added.

Asked whether further escalation of the struggle oregon the consciousness that Moscow is trapped successful a spiralling crushed warfare could summation the accidental of Putin deploying Russia's atomic weapons, Wallace cited the value of India and China raising concerns astir atomic escalation precocious past year.

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"We don't spot an summation of menace from the Russians," helium said. "But I deliberation the cardinal present is President Putin needs to cognize helium can't triumph successful Ukraine, helium needs to recognize that helium is astatine hazard of losing everything."

Beijing has continued to presumption itself arsenic a imaginable peacemaker successful the conflict, and China's peculiar envoy for Eurasian affairs precocious embarked connected a 12-day diplomatic circuit of Kyiv, Moscow, Warsaw, Paris, Brussels and Berlin.

Envoy Li Hui told a property briefing connected Friday that Russia appreciates China's "sincere tendency and earnest efforts" to find a solution, according to Reuters, adding that helium believes neither Ukraine nor Russia has "firmly" unopen the doorway connected bid talks.

China antecedently laid retired a multi-point program for bid that evoked ire successful Kyiv and the West for being acold excessively accommodating to Russia arsenic the authorities waging an amerciable warfare of aggression. Beijing has refrained from condemning Moscow for instigating the conflict, oregon for its galore ensuing attacks connected civilians and nationalist infrastructure.

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