British Army could ‘run out of bullets in 10 days’ in war vs Russia | UK | News
A leading military expert has claimed that if war broke out tomorrow, British soldiers could run out of ammunition in just 10 days because Labor has failed to replenish arms and ammunition sent to help Ukraine. Famous historian Antony Beevor gave his dire assessment of the British Army in an appearance on Sky News Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips.
Answering Sir Trevor’s question about what would happen if the Americans decided to withdraw from supporting Ukraine in the war against Vladimir Putin’s Russia, Mr Beevor said the Europeans could fill the gap “by force” but that it depended on whether the President was willing to do so. Donald Trump was still prepared to sell weapons to NATO partners. He added that the Europeans were “not in a position to catch up quickly” if they had to take over from the US in the war, but in a worrying assessment, Mr Beevor said Britain would be “worst off” if it came to an all-out conflict with Putin. “So we have no ammunition, or almost no ammunition… The British Army cannot last more than 10 days in a conflict before it runs out of ammunition,” he said.
Apparently surprised by the coldness of the response, Sir Trevor asked “seriously?” ‘ he replied, and Mr Beevor confirmed: ‘Yes, seriously.’
“The government’s first duty is to ensure the defense of the country, that is their first priority, but I mean, what do we see… even in this last Budget, money can be found somewhere to pour into the bottomless pit of welfare dependency, but there is not yet money to replace the ammunition and weapons given to Ukraine.”
As of November this year, the UK has pledged around £21.8 billion in support to Ukraine; Approximately 13 billion pounds of military support was provided under the Labor Party and Conservative governments.
The rest of the spending consists of non-military support (including bilateral aid and financial guarantees) and export finance (through UK Export Finance for reconstruction and defense projects).
The weapons and armor sent to Ukraine include 85,000 military drones, a new Anglo-Danish rapid development specialized air defense system called Gravehawk, thousands of Javelin and Brimstone missiles (both in production and delivered) and hundreds of millions of pounds worth of artillery ammunition.
The weapons and armor sent to Ukraine include 85,000 military drones, a new Anglo-Danish rapid development specialized air defense system called Gravehawk, thousands of Javelin and Brimstone missiles (both in production and delivered) and hundreds of millions of pounds worth of artillery ammunition.
Since July, Defense Secretary John Healey told the House of Commons in September: “The UK has delivered to Ukraine around five million shells, around 60,000 artillery shells, rockets and missiles, 2,500 unmanned platforms, 30 vehicles and engineering equipment and 200 electronic warfare and air defense systems.”
The government says it is actively contracting to replace stockpiles sent to Ukraine to help with the conflict, but former Chief of the Defense Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, speaking as the conflict began in 2022, warned it could take “five to 10 years” to replace the amount of equipment sent to help Kiev.
The Daily Express has approached the Ministry of Defense for comment.
