G7 leaders focus on helping Ukraine and punishing Russia
The UK must be prepared to fight against Russia in Ukraine, the British army chief said on Tuesday.
Chief of the General Staff Patrick Sanders said Russia will likely be an even greater threat to European security after the war and the army must be ready to fight to “avert conflict.”
“We're not at war, but we must act rapidly so that we aren't drawn into one through a failure to contain territorial expansion,” he said.
He said the army should focus on boosting readiness so troops could be deployed quickly, and on urban combat and rebuilding stockpiles. He described the choice facing Britain as its “1937 moment” in what appeared to be a reference to when Nazi leader Adolf Hitler invaded Austria.
It comes as Russia has been accused of “cruel and barbaric” war crimes after 18 people were killed and more than 59 injured in a missile strike on a crowded shopping centre in Ukraine.
