Russia and the perils of lowering our guard

SINCE the fall of the Berlin Wall, Western Europe has become dangerously complacent about the threat posed by Russia. Believing the world has changed so much that armed conflict is unthinkable, we have lowered our guard and allowed our military capability to wither.

In a truly chilling assessment, Britain’s top soldier warns this negligence could have deadly consequences. While our forces are wound down and starved of funding, Vladimir Putin is building a formidable arsenal of conventional and cutting-edge 21st century weapons, says General Sir Nick Carter, Chief of the General Staff.

In the last five years, Putin has increased his stockpile of long-range missiles –capable of hitting targets 2,500 miles away – by a factor of 30. His soldiers and airmen are combat-hardened from campaigns in Syria and Ukraine.

And they are supported by drones, missile shields and an army of cyber-warriors, dedicated to hacking into and destroying the communications and weapon systems of their enemies.

General Carter doesn’t say an attack is imminent but is concerned that we are woefully unprepared. Years of cuts have left our military stretched to the limit and, although we are spending slightly above the Nato required minimum of 2 per cent of GDP on defence, it’s clearly not enough.

The Russians respect only strength. If we – and the other Nato countries – are to deter them from future aggression we must show we would be no pushover. As Sir Nick says: ‘The time to address these threats is now.’