Shapps to pledge 20,000 military personnel for eastern Europe

THE Defence Secretary is set to pledge to send 20,000 British military personnel to a major Nato exercise in Eastern Europe as he warns the post-cold War “peace dividend” is at an end.

Grant Shapps will warn “battle lines are being redrawn” as he announces deployment of Army, Navy and RAF members to the drill on Russia’s borders in a speech in London today.

It will represent the largest deployment of land forces to Nato since the height of the Cold War in 1984, a year before Mikhail Gorbachev became Soviet leader.

This comes after Rishi Sunak announced that Britain’s military funding to Ukraine would be increased to £2.5 billion in the coming year and the Foreign Secretary warned of the growing threat from Iran.

The “peace dividend” refers to the period after the collapse of the Soviet Union when Western countries were able to reduce spending on defence.

Warning his audience that this period of history was over, Mr Shapps will say: “We are in a new era and we must be prepared to deter our enemies, prepared to lead our allies and prepared to defend our nation whenever the call comes.

“Today our adversaries are busily rebuilding their barriers, old enemies are reanimated, battle lines are being redrawn, the tanks are literally on Ukraine’s lawn and the foundations of the world order are being shaken to their core. We stand at a crossroads.”

Mr Shapps’ words come at a time when the size of the British Armed Forces has fallen to a record low.

Figures from last month show there were 184,865 service personnel in October, including just 75,983 regular soldiers. Both these totals were down 4 per cent on the previous year.

Last week, it emerged that the Royal Navy has so few sailors it has had to decommission two warships to staff a new class of frigates.

At his Lancaster House speech, Mr Shapps will say that Britain’s contribution to the Steadfast Defender exercise will provide “vital reassurance against the Putin menace”.

The war games come after ministers announced a £2.5 billion support package to Ukraine and the RAF air strikes with the US on the Houthis in Yemen. Mr Shapps will set out his vision for how the UK will deter threats.

“I can announce the UK will be sending some 20,000 personnel to take part in one of Nato’s largest deployments since the end of the Cold War, exercise Steadfast Defender,” he will say.

“It will see our military joining forces with counterparts from 30 Nato countries, plus Sweden, providing vital reassurance against the Putin menace.”

Some 16,000 troops with tanks, artillery and helicopters will be deployed from the British Army across eastern Europe next month.

The Royal Navy will deploy more than 2,000 sailors across eight warships and submarines, while more than 400 Royal Marines Commandos will be sent to the Arctic Circle.

The RAF will use F-35B Lightning attack aircraft and Poseidon P-8 surveillance aircraft.