UK unprepared to deter Russian military aggression, former Army chief warns

THE former head of the Army has said that the UK lacks the means to even deter Russian military aggression.

Lord Dannatt told the Camilla Tominey Show on GB News: “I think we stand at a very dangerous time, and I don’t want to spoil everyone’s Sunday morning, I think it’s dangerous for the reasons you’re just alluding to, that I don’t think that we are sufficiently prepared to not just for war, but to deter war.

“I think it’s also at a dangerous point, because I think if anything like the peace plan that Donald Trump is proposing to Ukrainians is accepted, then it places us in Europe in a very dangerous position. So we have got to really face the reality of the situation at the present moment and domestically.

“We need strong leadership. We need strong leadership to get over to the British Parliament and to the British people that we need to increase responsibility towards our own defence. We’ve got to find the money, despite whatever else Rachel Reeves would like to do in the Budget, to increase our defence expenditure to that 3.5% figure that they’ve talked about, not by 2035 but ideally by the end of this decade, and even sooner, if that was possible, to make sure that we can have a sufficient combat power, not to be able to fight and win a war, but to deter a war.

“And frankly, Vladimir Putin, if he gets anything like the peace agreement that Donald Trump appears to be forcing President Zelensky to accept, places us Europeans in a very difficult position.”

Asked about the Russian spy ship Yantar sailing close to the UK, he said: “We might be ready in the narrow tactical sense of knowing where that Russian spy ship is and what actions we might take locally to deter it. And of course, such local actions, if they were robust enough, might well have a significant effect and send a significant message to the Kremlin.

“But in the widest sense, we’re not ready. Keir Starmer, who is doing his best as our Prime Minister to work with other European leaders to bring some cohesion to Europe over the issue of Ukraine, has talked about leading a coalition of the willing. That’s fine, but is it a coalition of the ready?

“I think the answer has to be no, and if as is possible, President Zelensky does not go along with the Trump peace plan, such that Trump says, well, frankly, Ukraine and you Europeans, you can go your own way, and we Americans are going to take less interest in Europe, then the emphasis comes much more on us Europeans having to protect our own security.

“You can’t get away from the fact that security comes from expenditure, and this country, amongst other countries, has got to rapidly increase its defence expenditure to make sure we’ve got the military capability in space, in the air, on land, at sea, under the sea, to make sure that we can deter future aggression from Russia.

“You mentioned that Russian spy ship. Yes, of course, it’s examining the undersea cables, and we’re very vulnerable as a nation, and we are an island, which is a strength, but it’s also as an island, it’s our vulnerability. So much of our communications, our supplies, come across the sea, but come from under the sea as well. So there are many issues that have got to be faced, in strong leadership and a commitment to defence expenditure being increased.

“Frankly, I’m not holding my breath to see what’s going to happen in the Budget on Wednesday, but I hope that there will be a significant outcry if there is not new money put into defence on Wednesday, that this must be addressed in the future and addressed very quickly.”