A Liberal Democrat MP has warned there is a “significant chance” war could break out with Russia and Brits of fighting age will be conscripted into the Armed Forces.
An Afghanistan veteran and the member of the Defence Select Committee Mike Martin MP has said the government “must be prepared” to conscript Brits of fighting age should war with Russia breakout.
The Express reported Martin saying, “Obviously, if we get involved in a general war with Russia, we’ll be conscripting the population – there’s no question about that.
“Being prepared generates deterrence, which decreases the likelihood [there will be war]. The whole point about building the military up is it decreases the likelihood of this happening. I think that’s an important caveat.
“I’ve fought in wars; I’m not a warmonger. But I recognise that you’ve got to [pursue] peace through strength.”
He said that the government should “definitely have plans” in place along with ensuring infrastructure is set up for “mass-scale conscription” so that ordinary Brits can be called up to their “duty to their country.”
The Prime Minister has announced British troops being mobilised as peacekeepers in Ukraine is now moving into an “operational phase,” and Lord Peter Ricketts has warned this comes with “considerable risks,” espceially as Moscow has warned there will be conflict if the troops are mobilised to Ukraine.
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Sending British troops to Ukraine is moving into an ‘operational phase’ which poses ‘considerable risks’
Dmitry Rogozin, Putin’s former deputy premier warned British and foreign troops being sent to Ukraine as peacekeepers will be hit with severe hostility by Russia.
Tobias Ellwood MP for Bournemouth has called on the government to reintroduce compulsory national service.
Ellwood who is a former British Amry officer told the Express, “Of course we need to bolster land, air, and sea but there needs to be greater resilience and readiness from a British perspective to deter.”
The Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said that British troops being mobilised as peacekeepers in Ukraine is now moving into an “operational phase.”
On Saturday Starmer convened a virtual meeting of world leaders where they discussed the “coalition of the willing” for those who will contribute troops for a peacekeeping operation inside Ukraine.
The Health Secretary Wes Streeting told Sky News on Sunday morning that Russian soldiers confronting
British forces in Ukraine would be an “extraordinary escalation,” one that could lead to direct conflict between London and Moscow.
Streeting believes that confrontation between Russian and British troops would be enough to deter Moscow breaching any ceasefire.
Lord Peter Ricketts, who is a retired senior diplomat, has warned Starmer’s plans for peacekeepers in Ukraine come with “considerable risks.”
Lord Ricketts told Sky News that Starmer has done an “excellent job” bringing Europe together, but “now you’ve got to ask the tough questions,” What will “a European force actually do in Ukraine?”
The former national security advisor told Sky New’s Trevel Phillips that the European troops in Ukraine will have to be prepared to fight the Russians, and a “cast Iron American guarantee” will most likely prevent this.
He added, “I don’t think Trump is going to give that kind of commitment, while I admire the work going into it… I think a formed fighting force is a considerable risk without an American clear guarantee.”
