Britain must be ready to strike Russia within 30 minutes, Army chief | UK | News
Britain must be ready to respond to Russian aggression within minutes, the army chief warned.
General Sir Roly Walker said UK weapons deployed on NATO’s eastern border should be ready “to attack and mobilize within 30 minutes” if deterrence measures fail.
Speaking at the annual Land Warfare Conference in London, the Chief of Staff said that any military action against the attacker should be taken immediately, ideally before opposing forces leave their assembly areas.
The former Special Forces officer said: “If deterrence fails… the cost we impose on the aggressor must be felt immediately and preferably before they leave assembly areas.”
He also announced plans to deploy “a much larger number of remote and autonomous systems on the eastern flank” next year as NATO seeks to strengthen its deterrence posture.
British troops are already deployed in Estonia as part of NATO’s enhanced forward presence mission.
General Walker said the UK must remain willing to risk the lives of service personnel to defend its interests and allies.
He said: “Frankly the truth is that the hardest and most valuable currency we can contribute is blood.”
The Army chief argued that a country’s military and moral readiness to put its troops “on the line” underpins its international influence and credibility, The Sun reported.
He said: “This buys influence, increases credibility and ultimately weighs in on shaping how conflict is conducted and how peace is pursued.”
His intervention comes as the Ministry of Defense faces a £28bn budget black hole despite ongoing conflicts in Iran and Ukraine.
Earlier this month, former Defense Secretary John Healey and Armed Forces Secretary Al Carns resigned over a dispute over military funding.
The government’s long-delayed Defense Investment Plan has not been published more than a year later than expected.
General Walker insisted that land power remains central to preventing conflict and maintaining security.
He commands an Army of approximately 70,000 trained personnel; This is the smallest British Army in more than 200 years and is expected to bear the brunt of any future reductions when the Defense Investment Plan is finally announced.
Emphasizing the continuing importance of ground forces, he said: “It is only land forces that can seize terrain it is only land forces that will hold the ground.
“When the guns fall silent, as they certainly will, there will usually be plenty of ground forces left to defend what has been won.
“When others go home, those who remain are the ground forces, and in many cases throughout our history, that becomes our new home.”
The warning came as figures in Russian state media increased their rhetoric against Britain following news that Britain had developed three new long-range missile prototypes for Ukraine.
It was reported that the systems, which can hit targets more than 300 miles away, were tested at the Ministry of Defense’s Hebrides shooting range in Scotland.
British officials hope to supply the first of the new missile systems to Kiev within the next year.
The development drew an angry reaction from Kremlin supporters, including Putin ally and state media figure Margarita Simonyan.
Appearing on Russian television, Simonyan said: “When London gleefully announces that we are preparing long-range missiles to hit Moscow – listen, there are some interesting towers there.
“It would be interesting to see these towers go up in flames.
“It would probably be quite a picturesque and beautiful sight.”
He also suggested that the standoff could end if Russia gave Britain an “ultimatum”.
Simonyan said: “They are participants in this war.
“I ask you not to be upset that this has not been done yet.”
His remarks followed a series of attacks in Ukraine over the weekend targeting oil depots and fuel facilities used to support Russian military operations.
A huge fire broke out in the Kerch port of Russian-occupied Crimea, sending black smoke 64 kilometers into the sky.
According to the Russian-appointed governor of the region, 5 people died and 28 people were injured in the attacks.
Ukraine has stepped up its drone campaign against targets in Russia as Kiev seeks to increase pressure on Vladimir Putin and push Moscow towards peace talks.
