Grant Shapps was forced to abandon a visit to a port city in Ukraine after British intelligence warned of a credible missile threat from Russia.
Officials told the defence secretary Russia had become aware of his travel plans to Odesa, where a convoy carrying Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Greece’s prime minister had narrowly avoided an airstrike.
That news raised the threat level to Mr Shapps’s safety from substantial to critical, according to The Sunday Times, which had access to the delegation and was the first to report the abandoned plans.
Mr Shapps, travelling with chief of the defence staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin and a small team of British officials, took an overnight train from Poland, arriving in Kyiv on 7 March.
But the planned onward journey to Odesa was called off after an intelligence update revealed the Kremlin’s knowledge of it.
“Putin has shown himself to be reckless, ruthless and careless,” Mr Shapps, who instead travelled back to the UK via Poland, told the Sunday Times.
“The fact that he came perilously close to essentially assassinating two Western leaders, it doesn’t matter whether that is deliberate or accidental.
“What the hell is he doing, and why the heck would the West allow him to do that kind of thing?”
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Five people were killed in the airstrike that just missed Mr Zelenskyy’s convoy, according to Ukrainian authorities, which happened on 6 March, the day before Mr Shapps arrived in Kyiv.
It was the senior Tory’s second trip to Ukraine as Defence Secretary and his third since the outbreak of the war in February 2022.
It comes as Mr Zelenskyy faces waning enthusiasm in the West for supporting Kyiv.
European countries are struggling to find enough weapons and ammunition to send to Ukraine, and US help worth $60bn (£47bn) is stalled over political differences in Washington.
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A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “On a recent trip to Ukraine, the defence secretary did not make a planned visit to Odesa for security reasons.
“The UK continues to provide strong support for Ukraine and the defence secretary’s visit and engagements only underscored the importance of this support in the face of Putin’s aggression.”
Well, at least Shapps didn’t get blown up. That’s a win, right?
Hey Grant, maybe you can take a cruise to the Bahamas instead! I hear the beaches are lovely this time of year.
The Russian threat to Odesa is real and ongoing. The missile strikes in recent weeks have been indiscriminate and deadly.
I wonder if this is just an excuse to avoid tough questions about the UK’s support for Ukraine?
Why can’t the UK government just send in a few fighter jets to protect Odesa? It’s not like Ukraine has a lot of air defenses.
Maybe Shapps can take a virtual tour of Odesa? He can put on a VR headset and pretend he’s there.
The UK government must balance the need to support Ukraine with the need to avoid a wider conflict with Russia.
A prudent decision. Safety should be the utmost concern in such a volatile environment.
This is an outrage! The UK government should be doing everything it can to support Ukraine. This visit should have gone ahead, no matter the risks.
The UK government is providing Ukraine with significant financial and military aid. It is also working with its allies to coordinate a response to the Russian invasion.
Oh, sure, let’s just start a world war over Ukraine. That’s a great idea.
Oh, boo hoo! Poor Mr. Shapps is too scared to visit Ukraine? Maybe he should send his secretary instead.
The UK government is being too cautious. They need to take more risks to support Ukraine.
I don’t have a strong opinion on this issue. I can see both sides of the argument.
The UK government has been clear that it will not send combat troops to Ukraine, but it will continue to provide other forms of support.