The retired Nato general said in an interview that Ukraine would be “morally and practically ready” to become part of the alliance once the conflict had ended.

Pavel also supported the west supplying Ukraine with arms, saying “I am proud of my country being one of the first to provide Ukraine with significant military help. Probably very few people could imagine that Western countries would be willing to provide Ukraine with modern main battle tanks or long-range artillery or anti-aircraft systems.”

However he observed that in the face of Russia’s resources “we see it’s still not enough.”

“We have no alternative,” Pavel said. “If we leave Ukraine without assistance, they would most probably lose this war. And if they lose - we all lose.”