Countries who 'sat on the fence' over Ukraine should come off it, former national security adviser says

Countries who "sat on the fence" when Russia invaded Ukraine should now be persuaded to come off it, a former UK national security adviser has said.

Speaking about the Wagner Group's challenge on President Putin's leadership, Lord Ricketts told the House of Lords: "The spectacle we saw last weekend must surely have shown the whole world that Putin is a weak and indecisive leader, and the head of a corrupt and chaotic country.

"I agree with the Government that the leadership of Russia is something for the Russian people.

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"Our business is to ensure that Ukraine grows in confidence and strength in the months ahead.

"In that context, will the minister reassure us that ambassadors of all those non-aligned states, which sat on the fence at the time of the invasion of Ukraine, can now be persuaded that this would be a very good time to come off that fence, to give their support to Ukraine with the aim of shortening the war?" he asked.

The armed rebellion led by the Wagner mercenary group marks "the most significant challenge to the Russian state" in recent times, according to UK defence officials.

Russian president Vladimir Putin called the actions of the private military company a "betrayal", after its chief Yevgeny Prigozhin vowed to topple Moscow's military leadership.

Speaking at a Royal United Services Institute conference, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace warned: "We shouldn't necessarily over-credit the destabilisation, that somehow this is a massive derailment of the Kremlin".

The Wagner Group, he said at the defence and security think tank conference, was now "spent, done, dissipated".

It shows, he said, how "stretched Russia's reserves are, but it mustn't distract from the main mission" of supporting Ukraine.

"It was just another of the cracks we have been seeing in public discourse," he added.

Ukrainian forces have "gained impetus" in assaults around Bakhmut as Russian troops face "multiple threats" across more than 200km of the frontline, according to UK defence officials.

Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast has seen the bloodiest and longest battles of the conflict so far and, in its latest intelligence briefing, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) said Ukrainian forces have made progress on both the northern and southern flanks around the city. 

The MOD said Ukrainian troops made headway around Bakhmut in a "multi-brigade operation" as part of its continued counter-offensive.

It comes as the Defence Secretary says Storm Shadow missiles sent by the UK to Ukraine are having a "significant impact" on the battlefield. 

Ben Wallace hailed the accuracy of the precision-guided bunker-busting missile as "almost without fault".