British troops must be prepared to fight to prevent war, says army chief

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Britain’s armed forces must be prepared to “fight and win” to prevent the spread of war in Europe, warns the new army chief.

In a speech Tuesday, General Sir Patrick Sanders, Chief of the General Staff, will say that he has never seen such a clear threat to peace and democracy as the “brutal aggression” of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

He will like the current situation until the run-up to World War II, and says Britain must be prepared to “act quickly” to ensure that it is not drawn into a full-scale conflict by its failure to contain Russian expansionism. .

His latest warning, in a speech at a conference hosted by the Royal United Services Institute think tank, comes after he wrote to all the troops under his command and told them they must prepare “to fight in Europe again “.

This is our 1937 moment. We are not at war – but we must act quickly so that we are not drawn into one by a failure to contain territorial expansion.

Speaking on the same occasion, Defense Minister Ben Wallace is expected to issue a new call for increased defense spending in the coming years to counter the growing threat.

His call comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson prepares to join other NATO leaders in Madrid for a summit they are expected to agree to the biggest overhaul of the Western military alliance since the end of the Cold War.

A defense source did not deny reports that Mr. Wallace mr. Johnson in a letter called for lifting the annual military budget of the current NATO minimum target from 2% of GDP to 2.5% by 2028.

“We do not comment on alleged leaks. “The Secretary of Defense and the Prime Minister have always said that the government will respond to any changes in threat and therefore the Ministry of Defense received a record defense settlement in 2020,” they said.

Liz Truss said NATO should focus on increasing flexibility in resource deployment, using modern techniques such as “hybrid warfare, arming migration, using cyber attacks”, and spending more on defense.

“Two percent should be a floor, not a ceiling for defense spending,” the foreign minister said in an interview with Die Welt, La Repubblica and El Pais.

In his first public involvement since taking office, Genl. Sanders says his focus is on mobilizing the military to help prevent the spread of war in Europe by “being ready to fight and win with our NATO allies and partners”.

“In all my years in uniform, I have not known such a clear threat to the principles of sovereignty and democracy, and the freedom to live without fear of violence, as President Putin’s brutal aggression and his expansionist ambitions,” he said. he. expect to say.

“This is our 1937 moment. We are not at war – but must act quickly so that we are not drawn into one by a failure to contain territorial expansion.

Ben Wallace is expected to call for more investment in defense (Dominic Lipinski / PA) / PA wire

“I will do everything in my power to ensure that the British army plays its part in preventing war.”

Despite the recent emphasis on new capabilities, such as drones and cyber warfare, he will say that land forces will remain decisive in any conflict, adding: “You cannot cyber your way across a river.”

In a reference to the beginnings of the First World War, Gen Sanders would say that “this is not the rush to war at the speed of the 1914 railway grids”.

Instead he would say scaring off Russia means “more of the army ready more of the time” from “the general in (Ministry of Defense) Main Building, to the young country corporal in the barracks, from the reservist on ‘ a weekend exercise, to the civil servant in army headquarters ”.

In his speech, Mr Wallace will reiterate his call for greater investment in defense to meet the changing international environment.

In March, the Minister of Defense wrote to Chancellor Rishi Sunak before his spring statement in which he warned that British defense spending would fall below the NATO minimum of 2% of GDP by the middle of the decade, unless the Treasury devoted more resources.

A defense source said: “The defense minister is expected to stress that now that the threat has changed, governments must be willing to invest to keep us safe.”