The head of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service said Russia’s war against Ukraine is part of a “staggeringly reckless campaign of Russian sabotage” aimed at Europe.
Richard Moore, chief of the intelligence agency also known as MI6, accused Russian President Vladimir Putin and his allies of saber-rattling to “sow fear about the consequences of aiding Ukraine” and noted that if Ukraine fell, it would embolden the West’s adversaries.
“Our security — British, French, European and transatlantic — will be jeopardized,” he said during an address at the British Embassy in Paris on Friday, noting countries had no choice but to support the Eastern European nation.
“The cost of supporting Ukraine is well known, but the cost of not doing so would be infinitely higher,” he said.
“If Putin succeeds, China would weigh the implications, North Korea would be emboldened and Iran would become still more dangerous.”
Moore said Britain and France “are united and unflinching in our determination to support Ukraine for as long as it takes to defeat Russia’s war of aggression, and protect European security and the international order.”
President Biden on Thursday reiterated U.S. support for Ukraine following Russia’s aerial strikes this week, as Moscow eyes additional attacks against “decisionmaking centers” in Ukraine, among other facilities.
President-elect Trump has vowed to bring a quick end to the war between Russia and Ukraine but has not shared details of how he would do so. Both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have spoken favorably of Trump following his election this month.
Moore on Friday touted his work with Trump’s first administration to advance security efforts and said he looks “forward to doing so again,” citing collaborations on technology and defense.
“Together, as allies, our collective strengths will outmatch and outlast Putin’s morally bankrupt axis of aggression,” he said.
