UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has stressed that 2024 could be a decisive year for the fate of Ukraine, which largely depends on the actions of Western allies.

Shapps stated in his article in Politico that Russia is increasing its financial and human expenditure in the war and doesn’t care how many additional troops may need to be sent to the front.

He mentioned all of the support that the UK has already provided to Ukraine and recalled the signing of a historic agreement between the two countries in Kyiv, where British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged another £2.5 billion in UK military support for Ukraine, bringing the total to £7 billion. 

"The message couldn’t be clearer: The UK is in this for the long haul. But the message I’m sending my counterparts on the Ukrainian Defense Contact Group is that they too must take action," he wrote.

"However, we must maintain this momentum. And we need more diplomatic, economic and military support to do so. There’s no world in which Putin can be allowed to win. Not only would it embolden him, putting our other Eastern European allies in Russia’s crosshairs, but it would also signal to China that everything is up for grabs. There can be no wavering. No fence-sitting. No waiting to see which way the wind blows."

"Putin believes the West can be worn down. He believes we lack strategic patience. And we must prove him wrong. In this great year of democracy, Ukraine’s future is in the West’s hands. We cannot let them down."

Read more: "The era of peace dividend is over. Moving from a post-war to a pre-war world." Historic speech by UK Defence Secretary