While Russia’s military intervention against Ukraine, which started on February 24, continues, new news continues to come. In the news from England, the new British Chief of Staff, General Sir Patrick Sanders, who took office last week, said in a message he sent to all members of the army that they should be ready to face Russia at the front.
“THE TONE OF THE MESSAGE IS NOT AMAZING”
Sir Patrick, who took office last week, said in a June 16 message seen by the BBC that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine showed that the British army must be ready to defend the country and fight ground wars.
Sir Patrick said he should have the capacity to beat Russia.
Speaking to BBC Defense Correspondent Jonathan Beale, a defense source said that the tone of the message broadcast on the Ministry of Defense’s internal network is not surprising; He said that although all armies are trained to fight, conditions have clearly changed in recent years.
‘POSSIBILITY OF LAND WARS’
General Sir Patrick said that he was the first chief of staff to take office since 1941 when there was a possibility of waging a ground war against one of the continent’s great powers in Europe.
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine re-emphasizes our main raison d’etre: to defend Britain, to be ready to fight and win on land, to deter Russian aggression with our strength.
“The world has changed since February 24, and now there is a high need to have an army that can defeat Russia by fighting alongside our allies.
“My goal is to accelerate the mobilization and modernization of the army, strengthen NATO and prevent Russia from invading more of Europe.
“Our generation is the generation that needs to prepare the military for another war in Europe.”
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine changed the perspective of the army, which will suffer cutbacks for years to come.
Defense spending in the UK has increased by £3 billion a year in real terms since 2016-17.
Between 2010-17, a cut of 6.6 billion pounds was made in real figures.
According to the ISS Global Military Balance 2020 report, Russia allocates 4.14 percent of its gross domestic product to its army, while this rate is 2.33 percent in the UK.
Prior to the invasion of Russia, Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated in a speech in November that he “believes that the times when tanks advanced in Europe are over”.
Asked about his views on the defense budget in those days when Russia was preparing to attack Ukraine, Johnson said:
“We recognize that old concepts, such as having major tank battles on the European continent, are obsolete. We have better things to invest in.
“Future wars will be fought with advanced air systems and cyber strategies, and we need to be there.”