It's 'absolutely valid' to compare Russian President Vladimir Putin to Adolf Hitler, a former advisor to Ukraine's foreign minister has said.
Today marks the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Both the European Union and the United States have announced a new wave of sanctions against Russia over the conflict.
Cormac Smith was an advisor to Ukraine's foreign minister from 2016 to 2018. He told The Hard Shoulder the West is letting the Ukrainian people down.
"The suffering of the Ukrainian people is currently like nothing that has been seen on the European continent since the Second World War," he said.
"It is absolutely valid to compare Vladimir Putin to Adolf Hitler."
'It is getting worse'
Mr Smith said leaders in the West should be moving from talk of 'fighting to winning'.
"How often have we heard people say, 'We are with Ukraine as long as it takes'?" he said.
"We are yet to hear western leaders set the objective [that] we are in this until Ukraine wins".
Mr Smith said western countries should be providing Ukraine with more modern battle tanks, long-range artillery and air cover.
"It is unconscionable that we are not providing these weapons," he said.
"They have been crying out for modern jets, there has been a lot of talk.
"They still, to my knowledge, have not got F16s in their hands.
"It is now getting worse".
A bombed building destroyed in Ukraine by Russia, 11-3-22. Image: synel / AlamyMr Smith said a 'puppet of Vladimir Putin' is blocking vital US aid for Ukraine.
"We are at a point now because of the shenanigans that are going on in Washington DC and with the [House] Speaker Michael Johnson - who is a puppet of Donald Trump, who in turn is a puppet of Vladimir Putin - blocking $50 billion worth of aid.
"We also saw the shenanigans going on last year in the European Union with [Hungarian PM] Viktor Orbán blocking European Union aid.
"We seem to have gotten over that.
"The result of this is Ukrainian troops who are dying daily on the front are running out of ammunition".
'A wolf at our door'
Mr Smith said Ukrainian forces are having to switch from offence to defence.
"When I hear people saying [that] the counter-offensive last year failed, no it didn't," he said.
"We expected the Ukrainians to prosecute a counter-offensive under conditions that no NATO country would have considered since 1945.
"The biggest message, which is still not landing with most people in the West, this is a wolf that will come to our door.
"There is more at stake in Ukraine than Ukraine.
"If the butchery of the Ukrainian people is not enough to make us sit up and properly support Ukraine... we need to realise that Russia actually is waging a war on the West and on NATO.
"If they were to succeed in Ukraine, there is no doubt they will not stop in Ukraine," he added.
The new EU sanctions focus on further limiting Russia's access to military technologies, such as drones, and on listing additional companies and individuals involved in the war.
The package covers 194 individual designations, including 106 individuals and 88 entities.
