British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps called on Germany and other allies to give Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky permission to use their weapons to strike targets in Crimea, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
Shaps refused to confirm whether the UK would allow weapons supplied to Ukraine to be used against targets in Russia, but said they had been fired at Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces in annexed Crimea.
British Minister Shapps stated that Putin is "bluffing" in the war in Ukraine, but said he was "extremely concerned" from the strengthening alliance between the Russian leader and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
Britain supplied Ukraine with long-range Storm Shadow missiles, and other allies provided similar weapons, the two agencies recalled.
In the show "Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips" on "Sky News" TV Shapps said: "The UK is much more open about how our weapons are used, including (other countries did not do this initially but then followed our lead) in Crimea, which we see as an integral part of from Ukraine; the fact that it was taken over by Putin in 2014 doesn't change that.
The defense minister said Ukraine was fighting for its survival and Britain was at the forefront of supporting the country, so it "encourages others to do the same."