𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has said Britain is “ready to act” after Donald Trump urged Nato countries to shoot down intruding Russian planes. In a stark warning, she criticised Moscow for its “provocative and reckless” violations of Nato air space in recent weeks during a speech to the United Nations.

Her comments came as the US President appeared to change his tone on Ukraine – insisting Kyiv can win back all territory it has lost and mocking Russia’s military capabilities. Asked during a meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky in New York whether he thought Russian planes in Nato airspace should be shot down, Mr Trump said: “Yes I do.”

Ms Cooper told the UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday night: “Ukraine’s security is our security, and all of us depend on upholding the UN Charter.

“Russia’s actions seek to undermine democracy, secure conflict and spread instability far beyond Europe’s borders.

“In recent weeks, we’ve seen provocative and reckless violations of Nato air space in Estonia, Poland and Romania, against which Nato stands firm, and we will be ready to act.”

Nato has said it will respond to Russian aerial incursions with “military and non-military tools”.

In a statement, the alliance condemned the incursion by three MiG-31 jets on Friday, describing it as “part of a wider pattern of increasingly irresponsible Russian behaviour”.

Former prime minister Boris Johnson has said the UK and its allies lack “the will and the leadership and the sense of urgency” to do more to help Ukraine.

He asked why frozen Russian assets are still not being used to fund the war effort, why the UK is still buying uranium from Russia, why it has not sanctioned Russian energy company Rosneft and why it has not imposed secondary sanctions on those still buying hydrocarbons from Russia.

Mr Johnson said: “I’ll tell you why. It’s because we’re still apprehensive about the consequences, and because we still fundamentally lack the will and the leadership and the sense of urgency to get this done.”