Exclusive:
Sir Keir Starmer has said Russia’s “irresponsible rhetoric” on nuclear weapons will not deter UK support for Ukraine – but Vladimir Putin has lowered the threshold for nuclear weapons
The UK is left “fighting for our way of life” as a result of World War Three fears and Russia’s conflict in Ukraine, a security expert has claimed.
Vladimir Putin has lowered the threshold for nuclear weapons on the 1,000th day of the Ukraine war, a day after the US gave the war-torn nation permission to use its long-range weaponry to fire into Russia. Although Sir Keir Starmer said Russia’s “irresponsible rhetoric” on nuclear weapons will not deter UK support for Ukraine, experts have expressed their concern at the situation.
Professor Anthony Glees, who is a security and intelligence expert at the University of Buckingham, told the Mirror: “It’s clear to me that there’s nothing we can do between now and Trump taking over that can save Ukraine in the long run other than arms ourselves with conventional weapons and conventional forces as quickly as we can. This is a huge ask from a cash-strapped UK and a cash-strapped EU. But we’re fighting for our way of life here and that does not come cheap.”
Putin, 72, has signed a revised nuclear doctrine declaring that a conventional attack on Russia by any nation that is supported by a nuclear power will be considered a joint attack on his country. This came after Washington gave the green light for the use of US long-range missiles within Russia and amid speculation that the UK could follow suit with British-supplied Storm Shadow weapons.
Prof Glees added: “Is Putin saying anything new here? That’s the big question Western policymakers and NATO generals are now puzzling over. Putin and his minions have threatened us repeatedly over the past 1,000 days that he would not hesitate to use nukes to ensure that Russia could not be defeated on the conventional battlefield.
“He has banged on about needing to safeguard the principle of Russian ‘sovereignty’ for more than ten years, completely ignoring his own attack on Ukraine’s sovereignty.”
Speaking at the G20 summit in Brazil, the Prime Minister also noted Mr Putin’s absence and described him as the “author of his own exile” from the gathering.
Asked at a press conference in Rio de Janeiro whether Britons should prepare for nuclear war, the Prime Minister said: “This is irresponsible rhetoric coming from Russia and that is not going to deter our support for Ukraine. We’re now on day 1,000 of a conflict, that’s 1,000 days of Russian aggression, 1,000 days of sacrifices in Ukraine.
“We have stood with Ukraine from the start. I’ve been doubling down in my clear message that we need to ensure Ukraine has what is needed for as long as needed to win this war against Putin.” He declined to say whether he was disappointed that the G20 joint communique watered down support for Ukraine.
