The chief of general staff highlighted the example of Sweden, which has just reintroduced a form of national service as it closes in on joining Nato. Ever since, Ukraine's military has been locked in a war with Russian-backed rebels in areas of the east near Russia's borders. 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 https://euronewstop.co.uk/how-many-troops-does-ukraine-have.html , office techies could be in demand to operate drones on the front lines and to fend off cyberattacks.
- Putin did not mention anything about the growing accusations that Russia has been committing war crimes against Ukraine, despite the discovery of a mass grave near the liberated city of Izyum.
- If Russia did decide to invade Ukraine, the senior Western intelligence official said large numbers of people would be displaced.
- “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.
- The UK has been threatened with a "military response" by Russia after pledging to send long-range missiles to Ukraine.
- Earlier this week, Gen Sir Patrick Sanders, the outgoing head of the British army, said its 74,000-strong ranks need to be bolstered by at least 45,000 reservists and citizens in order to be better readied for possible conflict.
"People were out on the streets last night in this city - they were waving the Ukrainian flag. They said this was their land. They were going nowhere," she reported. Ukraine has declared martial law - which means the military takes control temporarily. It has cut diplomatic ties with Russia, offered weapons to anyone who wants them and declared an overnight curfew for Kyiv.
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In 1994, the UK - along with the US - signed a memorandum at an international conference in Budapest promising "to respect the independence and sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine". They also promised to provide assistance to Ukraine if it "should become a victim of an act of aggression". It is regrettable - and sadly predictable - that we must gather today to condemn Russia’s latest wave of aerial attacks against the Ukrainian people. US secretary of state Antony Blinken said last week that these concerns from China and India increase “the pressure on Russia to end the aggression”.
However, Russian forces have suffered heavy personnel and armoured vehicle losses, frequently caused by Ukrainian uncrewed aerial vehicle munitions. The US is planning to station nuclear weapons in the UK for the first time in 15 years amid a growing threat from Russia, according to a report. Warheads three times as strong as the Hiroshima bomb would be located at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk under the proposals, the Daily Telegraph reported. The government says it wants to spend 2.5% of national income on defence - but has still not said when.
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True Russian cyberwarfare capabilities have proved something of a damp squib in Ukraine. Far from crippling the entire national infrastructure, the worst they are known to have done is briefly disrupt power and mobile phone networks. That, though, is partly because Ukraine had already learnt from previous Russian cyberattacks over the past decade. Right now, such scenarios tend to exercise only the minds of Ministry of Defence war-gamers and military thriller writers.
Air Vice Marshal Bell says the other reason the attack on the Moskva was successful was because it had been manoeuvring in a way that left it vulnerable to attack. British forces are often trained to behave in ways that make them less vulnerable. 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. Nato has said it will listen to Russia’s concerns about wanting Ukraine not to join the organisation but its core values, of allowing each nation to choose its own path and defending all allies, will not be compromised. The prime minister did confirm that 1,000 more troops would be put on alert in the UK if Russia were to invade although Downing Street is likely to follow the lead set by Nato. Putin already sent in “peacekeeping troops” to two separatist regions of Ukraine on Monday – prompting the West to issue a string of sanctions against Russia – but went even further early Thursday morning when he declared war on Ukraine.
Russia-Ukraine tensions: UK warns of plot to install pro-Moscow ally
Much of the fighting appears to be centred around the east of the country. But clashes have also been taking place around Kyiv and the Black Sea port cities of Odesa and Mariupol. But later on Thursday President Zelensky said Ukraine had suffered losses and a lot of aircraft and armoured vehicles had been destroyed.
- Even if cyberattacks didn’t wipe out Netflix, wartime Britons would still face a life without luxuries.
- Earlier this month, its civil defence minister told a defence conference "there could be a war in Sweden".
- Recruitment remained a challenge, he said, although applications to join were “the highest in six years”.
- The Russian offensive was preceded by artillery fire and there were injuries to border guards, the DPSU said.
- Downing Street has dismissed a warning from the head of the British army that the UK public must be prepared to take up arms in a war against Vladimir Putin’s Russia because today’s professional military is too small.