Feb 18, 2025 08:22 PM
UK facing 'new era of threat' from Russia, Defence Secretary says as he unveils ‘biggest military shake up in 50 years’
https://www.lbc.co.uk/politics/uk-faces-...-military/
EXCERPTS: The UK is facing “a new era of threat” from Russia, Defence Secretary John Healey has warned as he promised the "biggest shake-up" to Britain's military in 50 years to ensure the country is prepared for war.
Speaking at the Institute for Government (IfG) on Tuesday, the cabinet minister said Britain needs to 're-arm' if it is to handle pressures from hostile states.
He also unveiled a new command structure in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and pledged to tear apart Conservative-era policies, replacing them with sweeping reforms to provide a 'more muscular defence for a more dangerous world'.
[...] the defence secretary argued the UK is ‘buying better what our front line forces need’, vowing to cut waste and reduce duplication in the MoD. ... It comes as Sir Keir Starmer said he was ready to put British forces on the ground to help protect Ukraine, which he has described as the “frontline” of Britain.
The Prime minister has also warned Ukraine is "an existential question for Europe as a whole, and therefore vital for Britain's national interests." He continued: "This is a once in a generation moment for the collective security of our continent."
His comments came as Britain, along with Kyiv and Europe, were blocked out of Russia-US peace talks held in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. [...] Starmer had said troops on the ground were needed to protect Ukraine - with a unified force patrolling the Ukraine-Russia border. Poland, Spain, and Italy joined Germany in raising doubts over the idea.
Following the meeting, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer stressed that a US security guarantee is the only path to peace, saying a "US backstop" is the "only way to effectively deter Russia from attacking Ukraine again"
He is still expected to press his argument for US security guarantees when he flies to Washington for talks with President Donald Trump next week... (MORE - details)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
UK on collision course with Russia over peacekeeping troops in Ukraine
https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/uk-col...ne-3541971
EXCERPTS: European governments are currently split on whether to send troops to protect Kyiv against the threat of a fresh invasion by Russia. The UK and France are most enthusiastic about the idea, with German participation likely to hinge on the result of the country’s election which is taking place at the weekend.
But Russia’s foreign minister warned following talks with the Trump administration in Saudi Arabia that the Kremlin could not accept Western troops policing a deal in Ukraine.
Sergei Lavrov said: “We explained today that the appearance of armed forces from the same NATO countries, but under a false flag, under the flag of the European Union or under national flags, does not change anything in this regard. Of course this is unacceptable to us.”
His comments put Russia starkly at odds with the UK on how a peace agreement would be enforced – at the same time as Starmer faces the challenge of persuading the US President not to abandon the protection of Ukraine altogether.
[...] H.R. McMaster, a former US Army general who was national security adviser during Trump’s first term in office, predicted this week that American troops would end up protecting Ukraine following any peace deal.
He said: “I think there will be de facto US security guarantees if not de jure US security guarantees. If there are Nato troops inside Ukraine and there is a ceasefire, we should go back into the Black Sea for example with our ships.
“So I can see the US being like, outside-in security, and if Nato forces came under duress, an attack on one is an attack on all and I think the United States could probably destroy every single Russian position outside of Russia in the period of maybe half a day, and I think Russia knows that.”
The precise make-up of a multinational peacekeeping force is still subject to negotiation, after the summit in Paris organised by Emmanuel Macron on Monday ended without agreement on a unified European response... (MORE - missing details)
https://www.lbc.co.uk/politics/uk-faces-...-military/
EXCERPTS: The UK is facing “a new era of threat” from Russia, Defence Secretary John Healey has warned as he promised the "biggest shake-up" to Britain's military in 50 years to ensure the country is prepared for war.
Speaking at the Institute for Government (IfG) on Tuesday, the cabinet minister said Britain needs to 're-arm' if it is to handle pressures from hostile states.
He also unveiled a new command structure in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and pledged to tear apart Conservative-era policies, replacing them with sweeping reforms to provide a 'more muscular defence for a more dangerous world'.
[...] the defence secretary argued the UK is ‘buying better what our front line forces need’, vowing to cut waste and reduce duplication in the MoD. ... It comes as Sir Keir Starmer said he was ready to put British forces on the ground to help protect Ukraine, which he has described as the “frontline” of Britain.
The Prime minister has also warned Ukraine is "an existential question for Europe as a whole, and therefore vital for Britain's national interests." He continued: "This is a once in a generation moment for the collective security of our continent."
His comments came as Britain, along with Kyiv and Europe, were blocked out of Russia-US peace talks held in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. [...] Starmer had said troops on the ground were needed to protect Ukraine - with a unified force patrolling the Ukraine-Russia border. Poland, Spain, and Italy joined Germany in raising doubts over the idea.
Following the meeting, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer stressed that a US security guarantee is the only path to peace, saying a "US backstop" is the "only way to effectively deter Russia from attacking Ukraine again"
He is still expected to press his argument for US security guarantees when he flies to Washington for talks with President Donald Trump next week... (MORE - details)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
UK on collision course with Russia over peacekeeping troops in Ukraine
https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/uk-col...ne-3541971
EXCERPTS: European governments are currently split on whether to send troops to protect Kyiv against the threat of a fresh invasion by Russia. The UK and France are most enthusiastic about the idea, with German participation likely to hinge on the result of the country’s election which is taking place at the weekend.
But Russia’s foreign minister warned following talks with the Trump administration in Saudi Arabia that the Kremlin could not accept Western troops policing a deal in Ukraine.
Sergei Lavrov said: “We explained today that the appearance of armed forces from the same NATO countries, but under a false flag, under the flag of the European Union or under national flags, does not change anything in this regard. Of course this is unacceptable to us.”
His comments put Russia starkly at odds with the UK on how a peace agreement would be enforced – at the same time as Starmer faces the challenge of persuading the US President not to abandon the protection of Ukraine altogether.
[...] H.R. McMaster, a former US Army general who was national security adviser during Trump’s first term in office, predicted this week that American troops would end up protecting Ukraine following any peace deal.
He said: “I think there will be de facto US security guarantees if not de jure US security guarantees. If there are Nato troops inside Ukraine and there is a ceasefire, we should go back into the Black Sea for example with our ships.
“So I can see the US being like, outside-in security, and if Nato forces came under duress, an attack on one is an attack on all and I think the United States could probably destroy every single Russian position outside of Russia in the period of maybe half a day, and I think Russia knows that.”
The precise make-up of a multinational peacekeeping force is still subject to negotiation, after the summit in Paris organised by Emmanuel Macron on Monday ended without agreement on a unified European response... (MORE - missing details)