British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps had to cancel a trip to southern Ukraine last week due to security concerns, the British Defense Ministry said after the Sunday Times reported that Shapps had canceled his visit to Odessa.
According to the Sunday Times, the minister decided not to travel to Odessa after British intelligence warned him that the British delegation's plans had become known to Russia.
The trip was to take place the day after Russian forces launched a missile strike on the city during a visit to Odessa on March 6 by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
According to Ukrainian authorities, five people died in the attack.
Shapps arrived in Ukraine on March 7 by overnight train from Poland, accompanied by the Chief of the Defence Staff, Admiral Tony Radakin, and a small group of British officials. He held several meetings in Kyiv with Volodymyr Zelensky and senior officials from his administration.
According to a report in the Sunday Times, a previously planned trip to Odessa was cancelled just hours before departure on the basis of intelligence that suggested the Kremlin was aware of Shapps' plans.
As a result, the threat level for the minister was raised from significant to critical.
“Putin has shown himself to be a reckless, ruthless and careless person,” he was “close to killing two Western leaders, whether intentionally or accidentally,” the minister told the newspaper upon his return.
“I think, given that Zelensky, the Greek Prime Minister, and Oleksandr Kubrakov [Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister] were only 400 meters from the site of the missile strike, and then given the specific intelligence… it would be reckless and senseless to insist [on the trip],” he added.
The official comment from a representative of the British Ministry of Defense states that "during a recent trip to Ukraine, the Secretary of Defense did not make a planned visit to Odessa for security reasons.".
The department emphasized that the United Kingdom continues to provide resolute support to Ukraine, and the Defense Minister's visit demonstrated the importance of this support in the face of Putin's aggression.
Earlier this week, the Times reported that Russia likely jammed the GPS satellite signal on Grant Shapps' plane as it flew near Russian territory on its way back from Poland.
