Ukraine will be on back foot in war for months, says UK armed forces chief

Kyiv unlikely to be able to mount fresh counteroffensive until late summer at very earliest, says Adm Sir Tony Radakin

Ukraine is expected to remain short of ammunition and on the back foot in its war with Russia for several months until the west agrees further steps to support Kyiv, the head of Britain's armed forces has acknowledged.

Adm Sir Tony Radakin, speaking at a conference in London, did not directly comment on a French suggestion of deploying western ground troops in Ukraine, but instead emphasised an urgent need to increase industrial assistance.