Moscow learnt about Grant Shapps' planned trip to Odesa, so the visit was cancelled
Putin "came dangerously close to assassinating two Western leaders, whether intentionally or accidentally," Shapps said.
British Defence Secretary Grant Shapps cancelled his planned trip to Odesa on 8 March for security reasons.
Source. This was reported on Sunday, 17 March, by the British newspaper The Sunday Times, whose correspondents accompanied Shapps' delegation.
Grant Shapps arrived in Kyiv on 7 March to announce the allocation of £325 million to purchase more than 10,000 drones for the Ukrainian armed forces.
The British delegation included the Commander-in-Chief of the British Armed Forces, Tony Radakin. However, Shapps interrupted his visit to Ukraine after British intelligence warned him that the Russians had become aware of his intention to visit Odesa.
The day before Grant Shapps was scheduled to arrive in Odesa, a Russian missile hit the city. It happened during a joint visit to Odesa by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The strike killed five people.
Shapps sharply criticised Vladimir Putin. "Putin has demonstrated that he is cavalier, indiscriminate and shameless," the minister said, noting that Putin "came dangerously close to killing two Western leaders, whether by design or accident."
Recently, it was also reported that during Shapps' return from Stedfast Defender manoeuvres in Poland, Russia jammed the satellite signal of his plane as it flew near Russia's Kaliningrad region.
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