últimas notícias

“I suspect this is part of showing we’re not bound up with the European Union, which is led by the far more equivocal German view on Russia,” said Mr. Darroch, who later served as ambassador to the United States.

Germany’s equivocation helps explains why the R.A.F. planes carrying the antitank weapons to Ukraine flew a circuitous route across Denmark, avoiding German airspace. A senior British official said that reflected Britain’s close consultations with Denmark and Sweden, and that London did not ask the Germans for permission because it would have delayed a mission that depended on speed.

“The most interesting thing is what it says about how frayed the U.K.-German relationship is,” said Jeremy Shapiro, research director at the European Council on Foreign Relations. “The disunity was on display for everyone who could track the planes.”

Ms. Truss also skipped a meeting in Berlin with Mr. Blinken and her counterparts from Germany and France to discuss Ukraine, sending her deputy. Instead, she traveled to Australia, where she and Mr. Wallace met with officials to discuss a new submarine alliance with Australia, Britain and the United States.

That seemed an odd choice in the midst of a mushrooming European crisis. But it underscored Britain’s commitment to Asia, another cornerstone of Britain’s post-Brexit foreign policy. It also, analysts said, helped Britain avoid the perception of being unduly subservient to the United States.

“They have to work carefully not to be seen as a poodle,” Mr. Shapiro said. “They want to show that they are an extra-regional player.”

Michael Schwirtz and Michael Crowley contributed reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine, and Anton Troianovski from Moscow.