Grant Shapps: New ships will help marines fight future wars

Last month, the government announced it would provide an additional £500m to Ukraine, on top of the £2.5bn allocated for this financial year.

Mr Shapps said Russia’s renewed incursion in north-east Ukraine was a “wake-up call” adding: “This was going to happen due to the delays in getting Ukraine what they needed” in terms of military equipment.

“My simple message is to the world, and in particular to the United States now given the package that has passed Congress, not only is it the right thing to do, it’s a lot cheaper to defend and therefore deter Putin here and now than it is to allow him to win.”

Labour has also promised to meet the 2.5% target, but have not set a deadline, instead saying it would happen when economic conditions allow.

On Monday, the party’s shadow defence and foreign secretaries John Healey and David Lammy visited the Ukraine capital of Kyiv, where they met the head of the President’s Office Andriy Yermak and Defence Minister Rustem Umerov.

The pair promised that a Labour government would have an “iron-clad commitment” to supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia.