Russia is now a “lesser country” as a result of its invasion of Ukraine, says UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace.
Speaking to Sky News, he added: “President Putin is not the force he used to be. He is now a man in a cage he built himself.
“His army is exhausted, he has suffered significant losses.
“The reputation of this great army of Russia has been trashed.
“He has not only got to live with the consequences of what he is doing to Ukraine, but he has also got to live with the consequences of what he has done to his own army.”
Wallace says Russian forces appear to be regrouping and shifting their focus towards the south and east of Ukraine.
“We have seen it before. It always gets worse. It goes for more civilian attacks, more civilian areas.”
He adds that international allies have agreed to supply more military equipment and “lethal aid” to Ukraine, including armoured vehicles and long-range artillery and ammunition.
Earlier this afternoon, the head of Britain’s armed forces gave his update on the war.
In a speech followed by a question-and-answer session at the Institute for Government think tank, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin echoed sentiments made elsewhere by the UK and US, that Russian President Vladimir Putin had been “misled” about the effectiveness of his country’s armed forces.
He said the UK was “incredibly cautious” about believing Russian claims of withdrawing from the capital Kyiv but said there did appear to be signs the Kremlin was preparing to focus its efforts on the east and south of Ukraine.
“We are starting to see the early indications of those forces being moved back from Kyiv and retreating to both Russia and Belarus,” Radakin said.
“That in itself is a difficult evolution for Russia because they are doing that under contact, so Ukraine armed forces will attack those Russian forces as they retreat.”
Radakin, who replaced General Sir Nick Carter in the top job late last year, warned the coming weeks would “continue to be very difficult” for Ukraine, before adding: “But in many ways, Putin has already lost.
“Far from being the far-sighted manipulator of events that he would have us believe, Putin has damaged himself through a series of catastrophic misjudgements.”
