Ukraine war: Mysterious defence secretary trip to Washington amid fears of Russian escalation

The secretive, last-minute nature of the trip and a comment by a second defence minister, James Heappey - who said the conversations Mr Wallace would be having on Tuesday were "beyond belief" - suggested particularly sensitive and serious issues would be discussed. By Deborah Haynes, Mark Stone and James Matthews, Sky correspondents Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is on a hastily-arranged visit to Washington to talk with his counterpart and White House officials about "shared security concerns" including Ukraine and Russia, a source and an official said. The secretive, last-minute nature of the trip and a comment by a second defence minister, James Heappey - who said the conversations that Mr Wallace would be having on Tuesday were "beyond belief" - suggested particularly sensitive and serious issues would be discussed. It comes as the UK, the US and other NATO allies watch Russia's war in Ukraine closely, amid concerns that President Vladimir Putin may escalate his attacks even further,