Russia-Ukraine war: UK defence secretary announces 600 Brimstone missiles for Ukraine and says ‘we’re in it for long haul’

LIVE – Updated at 14:13 Ben Wallace makes statement at meeting of defence ministers in Estonia.   14:13 The British ambassador to

Ukraine, Melinda Simmons, has joined the backlash against comments yesterday by Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign secretary. In his lengthy annual new year press conference

yesterday, Lavrov compared the behavious of the west towards Russia with Hitler and Napolean, saying that, using Ukraine as a proxy, “they [the west] are waging war against our

country with the same task: the ‘final solution’ of the Russian question. Just as Hitler wanted a ‘final solution’ to the Jewish question, now, if you read Western politicians ...

they clearly say Russia must suffer a strategic defeat.” Responding to a call for Jewish organisations to condemn the comments by Oleg Nikolenko, a spokesperson for

Ukraine’s foreign ministry, the British ambassador in Kyiv tweeted: I don’t think it’s just Jewish organisations that should be calling out this insufferable Russian

state sponsored antisemitism. It’s been going on for ages, repeatedly articulated, and it has repercussions for everyone when states reduce Holocaust history in this cynical

way. Reuters reports that Lavrov has caused outrage before with remarks about Hitler. Last May he said the Nazi leader had “Jewish blood”, drawing angry protests

from Israel. Wallace: We’re in it for the long haul 14:04 Defence ministers from around the world will gather at the US airbase in Ramstein in Germany on Friday

to make it clear to President Vladimir Putin that they stand by Ukraine, Wallace says.