Russia's ambitions, he said, were not just about seizing territory but "about defeating our system and way of life politically, psychologically and symbolically". He highlighted numerous threats, but there is one common thread amid all these warnings - Russia. Some autocratic leaders are looking to see how robustly the West resists attempts to undermine the territorial integrity of a sovereign nation. Many analysts fear war in Ukraine could potentially spill over into other European countries. "We will not reopen that divide by agreeing to overturn the European security order because Russia has placed a gun to Ukraine's head." But both of these demands would break key Nato principles, namely that the alliance should be open to any European country that wants to join and that all Nato members should be sovereign nations.
A large diversion of citizens to military duty would leave gaps in the workforce to be filled, be it guarding food warehouses or building trenches and bomb shelters. Retired members of essential professions – doctors, nurses, morticians, police – would be urged back into service. As in Ukraine, office techies could be in demand to operate drones on the front lines and to fend off cyberattacks. The conflict in Ukraine offers a glimpse of how Britain might prepare for self-defence. Checkpoints and pillboxes would be built at motorway junctions and city entrances. Public buildings and metro stations would be used as air raid shelters, while anti-aircraft guns might be hidden in parks.
What Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could mean for the UK
Consequently, Air Vice Marshal Bell says planners need to take political and ethical landscape in which the Kremlin operates into consideration if it ever gets into a fight. Russia has seen more success in eastern Ukraine, by pounding their opposing forces and holding them back with an onslaught. Unfortunately for the Russians, it was clear they hadn't planned sufficiently well to undertake an effective invasion, and the forces operating their equipment were not well enough trained to adapt when things went wrong. The Ukraine war is providing a golden opportunity for British and NATO military planners to observe Russia fighting on the battlefield and to plan accordingly. Here, according to former Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) head Professor Michael Clarke and retired Air Vice Marshal Sean Bell, are a few of the lessons the MoD will be taking on board.
- But Air Vice Marshal Bell, who previously headed a strategic combat review for the RAF, says the reasons for this are not clear.
- But far-fetched as they might sound, General Sir Patrick Sanders, the head of Britain’s army, believes it is time we dwelt on them more.
- The PM said President Vladimir Putin had launched a "vast invasion by land, by sea and by air" without provocation.
- Hungary has signalled it is ready to compromise on EU funding for Ukraine - after Brussels reportedly prepared to sabotage its economy if it did not comply.
- "We think, in orbit… they're using some of their things as ASATS (anti-satellite weapons). Actually, just colliding with them, we can't prove that. And they may be able to disable some of them electronically as well."
The former Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain has long been criticised for describing Germany's attempted annexation of Czechoslovakia in 1938 as "a quarrel in a far-away country between people of whom we know nothing". Around 900 British troops are stationed in Estonia under Operation Cabrit, the UK’s contribution to Nato’s Enhanced Forward Presence in the Baltic states, which some fear could also be targeted by Mr Putin. Although the UK has no troops stationed in Ukraine, it has contributed resources to Nato’s presence in the wider region. Oil prices have also risen since the invasion, given Russia’s role as an oil producer and as a form of security for investors as the stock market slumps. War in Ukraine is almost certain to exacerbate cost-of-living problems in the UK. Wholesale gas prices soared on Thursday following the invasion, and, while the UK does not import much gas directly from Russia, British consumers will still be affected by rising worldwide gas prices.
UK government's humanitarian response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: facts and figures
While the Channel has long been the country’s greatest defence, it makes it hard to import in times of war. As well as curbs on foreign consumer goods, there’d be runs on more basic products like medical kits, fuel canisters and masking tape to stop windows shattering during bombing raids. Last month, the European Union paid the final instalment of a multibillion-euro support package to Ukraine to help keep its economy afloat. The European Commission has proposed to provide Ukraine with €50bn ($55bn), with 26 of the 27 nation bloc’s leaders endorsing this plan at a summit before that last payout. Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, is considered to be Putin’s closest ally in the EU.
But the senior Western intelligence official warned that "military options are highly likely on the table in the Kremlin" if Russia's demands are not satisfied. A senior Western intelligence official has warned that if Russia decides to invade Ukraine, a conflict could spill over further into Europe. The Ukrainian armed forces said they had shot down five Russian planes and a helicopter - which Russia denies - and inflicted casualties on invading troops. A Russian lawmaker said earlier on Wednesday that the plane had been shot down by US or German missiles supplied to Ukraine. The UK defence secretary Grant Shapps has said its allies need to “step up” their Ukraine military aid.
There are reports of attacks on Ukrainian military infrastructure across the country, and Russian convoys entering from all directions. Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, has said Hungary clearly supports Sweden’s application to join the alliance. “The aircraft was flying away from Belgorod- it was supposedly carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war with just three guards. Russia mounted an impressively fast disinformation campaign off the back of the incident. “The direction of the crash indicates that the plane left Belgorod and was moving away from it,” My Belgorod reported. Seconds before impact, several objects fell from the Ilyushin, he said, citing video evidence.
The UK and our allies condemn the Russian government’s unprovoked and premeditated war against Ukraine. But without political support, the mindset of a country that does not feel like it is about to go to war is unlikely to change. One Whitehall source told the Times that the training of Ukrainian civilians on UK soil could act as a rehearsal for rapid Army expansion. The size of its active armed forces is only 19,000 personnel, but it can call on another 238,000 reserves.
Now, the threat of an encounter with Russia - regarded as a military peer - is very present and it is arguable the British and other allied forces are not yet equipped for that. Mr Murayev called the claims "stupid" in an interview with Reuters news agency. Russia considers the alliance as a threat, and is demanding legal guarantees that it will not expand further east, including into Ukraine. But the US has said the issue at stake is Russian aggression, not Nato expansion.
- In the Ukraine invasion, Russia initially tried to use blitzkrieg tactics, learned from the Germans in WW2, by attempting to sweep down from the border with Belarus and take Kyiv within days, as Hitler had done in Poland in the late 1930s.
- Further east in Kramatorsk, in the eastern Donetsk region, the BBC's Eastern European Correspondent Sarah Rainsford said people did not expect such a full-on assault.
- The European Commission has proposed to provide Ukraine with €50bn ($55bn), with 26 of the 27 nation bloc’s leaders endorsing this plan at a summit before that last payout.
- They quoted the Defence Ministry in Moscow claiming that dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war had been on board the flight, on their way to a prisoner exchange.
- This is because Nato uses a system of collective security, whereby its independent member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party.
The Covid lockdown, which saw fights breaking out in queues at supermarkets and garages, was a glimpse of how trouble can spark during times of nationwide panic. There would also be concerns about looting, especially if food shortages started to bite. “We have become so comfortable here in Britain that it’s hard to imagine young people fighting, and when I went to Afghanistan a decade ago, I didn’t think the youngsters of would be up to much,” he said.
The logistics of training a “Citizen Army” are also formidable, according to one former Territorial Army (TA) soldier. “If you are talking about mass mobilisation to defend the homeland, that is hundreds of thousands of people,” he said. Military kit also needs boots on the ground to operate it – hence Sir Patrick’s call for a “Citizen Army” to boost the regular Armed Forces. Whether people would be flocking into recruitment offices is open to question. According to a 2022 YouGov poll, only one in five Britons would volunteer for service in the event of an invasion.
“The two leaders will reaffirm their resolute support for Ukraine’s defence of its land and its people against Russia’s war of aggression,” the White House said in a statement Saturday. Local authorities in Belgorod, which borders Ukraine, said the crash killed all 74 people on board, including six crew members and three Russian servicemen. Social media users in the Belgorod region posted videos that showed a plane falling from the sky in a snowy, rural area and a huge ball of fire erupting where it allegedly hit the ground. Ukrainian counter-attacks were holding Russians back from taking full control of Avdiivka, the UK Ministry of Defence said in its latest intelligence report. Russian forces have suffered heavy personnel and armoured vehicle losses, frequently caused by Ukrainian uncrewed aerial vehicle munitions. Hungary has signalled it is ready to compromise on EU funding for Ukraine - after Brussels reportedly prepared to sabotage its economy if it did not comply.
- As a result, recent military planners assumed the amount of ammunition required and preparation needed would be limited.
- However, Mr Orban's political director said this morning that Hungary was open to using the EU budget to allow further aid for Ukraine.
- Moscow’s ambassador to London previously warned that the UK would be hit with “immediate retaliation” if it tried to sanction Russia.
- It is the duty of the military to analyse that threat, and they still might be proved wrong.
But far-fetched as they might sound, General Sir Patrick Sanders, the head of Britain’s army, believes it is time we dwelt on them more. As fighting https://euronewstop.co.uk/where-is-croatia-in-relation-to-ukraine.html , cross-Channel shipping is attacked by Russian submarines, and long-range conventional missiles strike Dover and Southampton. After an uneasy peace with Ukraine, Moscow has sent forces into the Baltics, clashing with British troops based there to protect Nato’s eastern flank. A Russian team shot and killed a brother and sister from the Khotin community of the Sumy oblast this morning, the regional military administration said.