Ukraine would win the war faster if it had permission to fire British and other Western weapons against targets deep inside Russia, the head of the Ukrainian navy has signalled.
Vice Admiral Oleksiy Neyizhpapa told Sky News the course of the entire conflict would have been very different had Ukrainian forces been allowed to use western munitions without restrictions from the very beginning.
Asked whether he believed Ukraine could win the war faster if given such permission, the commander said: "Of course, the sooner the armed forces have the necessary battle capabilities and certain capabilities to destroy the enemy's infrastructure facilities, the sooner we will win."
He added: "As a military man, I will say the following: the enemy, knowing the battle capabilities of [our] armed forces, reacts accordingly to our actions. Therefore, of course, if we had limitless capabilities, believe me, the war would have played out totally differently.
"If Ukraine had certain types of long-range weapons which can be used deeper at the enemy territory, of course, the enemy would have behaved differently, including on the battlefield.
"Putin behaves like a small-scale gangster who knows that if he is matched blow for blow, he will not start a fight... If he understands that Ukraine can fight back and make him really feel pain, of course, he will give all this up. This is all."
The Ukrainian commander also said his navy would gladly take charge of two British warships the Royal Navy may reportedly have to retire early because of a shortage of sailors amid a recruitment crisis.
"We must have the capabilities to make sure that Russia will give up forever the thought of even looking in Ukraine's direction, including at sea," Vice Admiral Neyizhpapa said.