Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has publicly expressed gratitude to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, highlighting Britain’s unwavering commitment to Ukraine amid growing concerns over the United States’ changing approach to the war.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Zelenskyy stated:
“I spoke with UK Prime Minister @Keir_Starmer. The United Kingdom’s role in fortifying Europe’s defense and security is important for us.
We discussed upcoming plans and opportunities. UK’s support matters indeed, and we will never forget the respect the British people have shown for Ukraine and our citizens.
Thank you for your support.”
The Ukrainian leader’s remarks come at a time when Washington’s backing appears increasingly uncertain, following controversial comments by US President Donald Trump, secretive US-Russia peace talks excluding Ukraine, and misleading claims from the White House about military aid—which prompted a sharp rebuke from former UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace.
Zelenskyy’s emphasis on the UK’s importance in European defence and security suggests that Kyiv sees London as a key pillar of stability at a time when US support is being openly questioned.
While the UK has consistently pledged military and financial aid to Ukraine, Washington’s position has become more unpredictable. Trump’s claim that Zelenskyy “talked the United States into spending $350 billion dollars to go into a war that couldn’t be won”, along with accusations that Ukraine is “a dictatorship without elections”, have alarmed Kyiv and its allies.
Additionally, revelations that US and Russian officials held talks in Saudi Arabia without Ukrainian participation have sparked fears that Washington may be considering a negotiated settlement that would force Ukraine into territorial concessions—something Kyiv has firmly opposed.
Gratitude to the UK
In contrast, the Ukrainian president’s message to Starmer was filled with appreciation, making it clear that Britain’s commitment has not gone unnoticed.
By stating that “UK’s support matters indeed, and we will never forget the respect the British people have shown for Ukraine and our citizens,” Zelenskyy reinforced the idea that Britain has not wavered in its backing for Ukraine, even as political shifts in the US raise questions about the future of Western military assistance.
Zelenskyy’s praise for the UK aligns with London’s continued commitment to military aid, with Starmer reaffirming that the UK will provide at least £3 billion annually in military support until 2030.
The UK remains one of the leading European nations in supporting Ukraine, supplying long-range missiles, tanks, and key training programmes for Ukrainian forces.
Fortify Europe with what? Our 6 T45s? Politicians need to get real and put their money where their mouth is.
Let’s fortify ourselves first!
Is that trumpie?
Fortifying Europe simultaneously fortifies ourselves.
You were never a team player, were you?
Not sure why we should be a team player with Europe the way they have treated us.
Because we either all stand together or we fall apart alone.
You mean after our late midlife crisis where we stomped off the pitch shouting that we’ll find our own ball to play with even it costs more and the pitch we play on in future is not as good, all the while huffing like a spurned lover that we didn’t need them anyway and that they should still give us what we want? I’m surprised they didn’t treat us more badly after the way we behaved post 2016, we looked ridiculous and behaved like toddlers.
Because one of the reasons why Britain had been so successful for all of its history is because when we go to war, we always make sure we have allies.
You mean: why they didn’t give us special treatment?
Because they said that, if we left their club, we lose the membership perks?
Come on: if you cancelled your Netflix subscription, you wouldn’t expect to still be able to watch Netflix. Same applies here.
And also, Europe and the EU are not the same things! We’re NOT part of the EU but we ARE part of Europe. Take EU politics out of it; they’re our allies.
Team players don’t intercept medical supplies going through their country to steal for themselves. But you guys are remainer fanatics so…
I dunno, they’ve always treated me just fine. Used to let me travel, work and even live anywhere I wanted, and enjoy the full range of social benefits in whichever country I was in. Could sell or buy stuff from there, no probs. Even gave me a rebate back on some of the subs I used to pay for membership. Now… well, not so much.
That is why we should give Ukraine 3 to 5 percent of the GDP up to $160 billion for the military- that is how we fortify Europe- NOT sure $3 billion does the fortification.
Simply fortifying ourself without any regard for Europe is pointless for without Europe we are powerless to stop anything. It has to be in coordination with Europe to mean anything we can’t cover individually all the weapons and technology required to defend ourselves be it with full capabilities, depth of equipment and weapon production. We simply cannot be naive on this. Equally Ukraine is willing to die to survive, I think Poland and Finland will and some others but the further West you go beyond the limited professional soldiers what physical forces could we put forward to resist.
Agree. The UK needs to massively up defence expenditure. NATO under Trump is dead. The USA will not help it’s allies so we have to help ourselves. Joining a new ENATO structure and increasing defence expenditure to 3% immediately would be wise. More type 26 need ordering Another batch of 5 type 31s 27 more F35Bs ordering now A new tranche of 36 Typhoon now Put Wedgetails order back upto 5 but aiming for 7 Poseidon MPA fleet add another 6 All C2S to C3 Archer SPGs x76 Army manpower +10k RAF +5k Navy +5k Rebuild reserves and ensure the… Read more »
Won’t happen, net zero and immigration need every penny.
Don’t think 3% will cut it… We’re looking closer to 5%… Trump might well meddle in the F35 program and cancel it all togetherr whispers flying around that they’re going to slash the US defense budget. We also have joint missiles stocks for trident and the deterrent could he impact those?.. The implications of a significant break with the Americans I think might be very costly.
Sorry but once again the headline is misleading. Zelensky didn’t say Britain should fortify Europe against Russia. Instead he expressed approval of Britains role in fortifying Europe’s defence and security. It’s an expression of thanks not an exhortation to do more.
I agree we need to be clear on these distinctions.
Sloppy headlines to provoke vigorous debate? Surely not…
We clearly need to do much much more. We are living in dangerous times, the time of appeasement and defence cuts ended years ago, but HMG just are blindly ignoring that. It’s time to rearm, re-equip and prepare for a war with Putin’s Russia we all know is coming
The UK should do a lot of things. It doesn’t have the action based mindset to do much of anything.
Cuts, underfunded and morale done us badly. If the US continues I’d like to see European leaders grow a backbone and fight back against trump. So the UK (it wouldn’t have the backbone) kick the US military out of the UK. God knows how many military bases they have in the UK or Europe as a whole. We need to start buying British equipment and see Americans reaction then
It would be biting off our nose to spite our face. However Equally their presence if nothing else is useful it means we are far less likely to be attacked, certainly nuked. Now popular would the former tv host be if thousands of Americans died or were injured under his stewardship? So let’s be smart, no rash acts but determined building up of our independence from US hegemony as closely as we can with allies in Europe and elsewhere. Many other countries will be feeling the same incentives now, Canada is working hard to diversify with units enormous capacity for… Read more »
Exactly, a future generation of MAGAs could potentially be even more meaner!
Roumour (and only roumours) floating around I’ve seen today are suggesting just as trump is trying to force Zelensky into signing away their minerals, trump is telling Europe that if they don’t go along with his peace plan then he’ll be withdrawing US troops from front line positions within three weeks and Europe shortly there after….
Yes then the US would simply stop doing technology transfer on trident and the submarine programme…yes your plan would work really well then wouldn’t it….Jesus sometimes I wonder about the people posting here….
What transfer? Trident II is nearly 40 years old, and we build our own submarines, if you hadn’t noticed. Maintenance on the missile bodies is another matter, but cutting us out of that would be a very hostile move that we’d just have to work around. The missiles wouldn’t fall apart straight away, I’m sure.
Matthew Thorne is just another Trumptard who thinks that the US does everything and all our tech is purely from them.
Kicking US Forces out of the UK would be one of the most stupid things we could do, from F-35 to the Trident Missile programme the US would simple withdraw cooperation….not to mention shared intelligence bases and the number of jobs US bases support.
I agree. Let them be the dickheads. There’s no sense in cutting off our nose to spite our face. Intelligence sharing is perhaps the most important aspect of all this, maybe even more than actual military cooperation.
Reece, well said made ,send a message to the stupid Americans, we will buy british and European weapons, just as good and fxxk trump ,watch America sink 😳 😀, trump would be a perfect case for a muppet, the orange 🍊 balloon and a beaver on top of his head 😀
If UK, Cansda, Australia, Turkey and Europe do not step up now…then when would they ever.. forces are diminished but Russian land forces are in tatters. Provide a stabilisation force to secure Belarus border..
NATO’s European members need to collectively fortify the continent against both Russia AND America – the latter at least while the Manchurian Candidate is running it. After his comments about Canada, Greenland, Panama, Gaza, and now Ukraine, it’s obvious that Trump cannot be relied upon or evan trusted, regardless of whatever treaty obligations the USA has.
Sadly true.
And we better hurry.
US isn’t a miltary threat to Europe or the UK but is a massive economic one with trumps random and ill thought out tarrifs. European unity is going to be key to pushing back to the bully
Slight correction: the US isn’t a direct military threat to Europe or the UK. They’re not going to be attacking us themselves, no.
But everything Trump says and does will be emboldening Putin, leading up to a very-likely war within the next decade. The US is creating the conditions for a potential 3rd World War, which is a threat to us.
They might attack Greenland, who is a NATO member, Denmark would be duty bound to try to defend their territorial integrity.
And we (and the rest of NATO) would be duty bound to also defend Denmark and Greenland from the US.
That’s the end of NATO. Russia and China will be laughing their asses off if this happens.
Comments regarding Greenland – not ruling out military force to take it over – suggest it IS a threat to Europe…
Absolutely agree that ENATO must, if for no other reason than an enlightened sense of self-preservation, massively increase collective defence spending immediately, under current circumstances, at least through 2028. Assume the $300+Bn in sequestered RU central bank funds would serve as a reasonable down payment for defence expansion. Those funds could be supplemented by a combination of individual country tax surcharges and social-welfare spending constraints. ENATO would be significantly better equipped to function independently of any current or future US POTUS, regardless of foreign policy. This plan could be reevaluated/modified/enhanced on a periodic basis, perhaps at five year intervals, based… Read more »
Er… POTUS…🙄 (redundancy)
I do think we need a Canadian POTUS though…
😁
I agree we need to ramp military spending up to match US levels now, not sure we can access Russian funds unless we actually go to war with them legally and it may be something we hold back now as a bargaining chip. The EU just found €98 billion down the back of the couch in un allocated COVID spending it now wants to put into defence. The EU is more than capable of ramping up its military spending to counter any conventional threat Russian can pose. If the EU can hold then the UK faces little threat as the… Read more »
Unhinged president? Lol I think your confusing trump with the senile Joe biden who didn’t know what day of the week it was!
No, we really aren’t. When the US president starts repeating parrot fashion what the Russian president has previously lied about to justify his illegal invasion then you have two conclusions to possibly draw. One, he is unhinged; Well that’s not so hard to believe really. Two, Putin has him by the balls for some reason; most likely for some sort of electoral malfeasance that the Russian cyberwarfare complex committed on his behalf and that he has proof of. I say this because I find it really hard to believe that the US electorate would be stupid enough to elect a… Read more »
At least Biden knew who his allies and who his enemies are, Trump doesn’t…
Biden was hardly a political genius but at least he didn’t allow a 4 year old son of the real power behind the throne (who survives on a cocktail of drugs apparently), to tell him he’s not the real President, to shush and some say even told him to fuck off as while rub I g a bogey on the Presidential desk while he sat there meekly. Anyway have you witnessed old man Trump’s cognitive behaviour recently? Do you really have faith in a the supposed President who condemned as an idiot the person who negotiated the Canada Mexico trade… Read more »
Interesting how much ire is thrown at Biden for getting doddery, but the fact that there’s a lot of evidence that Trump is starting to suffer from Dementia seems to be absolutely fine.
Jim, Fylingdales is not solely for US benefit. It works for NATO as a whole, not to mention for the UK!
Yes I know but in a world where the US rips up the Polaris Treaty and try’s to disarm the UK of its nuclear capabilities then NATO no longer exits. Trump only understands leverage, what other leverage do we have?
As I said we are one angry tweet away from this situation currently, that’s all it takes now.
On this side of the Pond, we have a legal expression, to wit: “Possession is nine tenth’s of the Law.” Reasonably certain barristers could adjudicate the issue in perpetuity in national or international courts, meanwhile, funds could be productively employed in ENATO rearmament programme. If cornered, there is always the fallback strategy of requesting forgiveness, rather than permission. 😁
BTW, have commented previously re relatively low cost/risk alternatives to D5 SLBM capability. Ideal? Certainly not. Functionallly equivalent? Probably.
F/USAF, its good to see you back commentating here. We badly need you to interpret Trumpian diplomacy and politics for us!
I, for one, just don’t understand the logic of it all.
I presume POTUS has ordered cessation of military equipment and munitions to Ukraine as that is his mindset? If so, Europe needs to increase their effort in that regard, as well as rebuild our own militaries.
Yes, I too would love to read FormerUSAF’s take on what is going on. Too many of the Americans on here have been drinking the MAGA Kool-Aid, and it’s a reassurance to know not every one of our American friends has gone over to the dark side…
GM, Certainly would wish to be able provide wise counsel to NATO allies, but must confess to being as shell shocked as most others by the reign of The Donald (2.0). The blizzard of Executive Orders, some contravening public law and others probably unconstitutional have disoriented Democrats and RINOs Republicans in Name Only) alike. I fall into the latter category, being an admirer of Eisenhower, Reagan and Bush (The Elder) and not of the more recent POTUS varietals. Thus far, the Blitzkrieg has been relentless, but there are several minefields/anti-tank barriers in the path of the assault, specifically: the annual… Read more »
Eisenhower. Now there was a President!
Hello mate, Nice to hear from you, I’ve been wondering about you since all this went ballistic in the last few days or so. I would think that a majority of us on here really appreciate the what the US has done over the decades and we have been very critical of our own politicians for failing to pull our weight with regards to defence. I for one have felt that for many, many moons now. There is a palpable feeling of shock on this side of the pond. PV Vance’s comments might have been written with the home audience… Read more »
CR,
Completely understand the reasoning w/in your post. Cannot plausibly explain/rationalize the Machiavellian machinations of The Donald (2.0). Advise ENATO to collectively approach the next four years locked and loaded, heads on swivel. Re sequestered RU Central bank assets, please refer to response provided to Jim, same subject.
Frequently reminded of the putative ancient Chinese epithet: “May you live during interesting times.” 🤔😳😱☹️
Good take as difficult as it is, I have been using a fair selection of insults and swear words aimed at Trump and co myself, we need to play this smart and united. Didn’t get off to a good start at the Euro summit it seems, but if this doesn’t unite a Europe I don’t what will. We really do need to build a power base of the willing, starting with France who one hopes shares generally similar views to us on European strength and Poland who will be vital. Not sure what game Germany are playing which is the… Read more »
Germany is just as isolationist as the USA, trouble is it doesn’t have two ocean’s to insulate it. The AFD is on the rise and looks un stoppable. German elections were the main reason the Paris talks didn’t produce more.
It may be time for the UK to spit out its dummy and walk away.
We can double down on the JEF countries and leave the rest to their own devices and do what we can for Ukraine. Strategically we are one of the most insulated major powers.
Fear you are right, fact is and it’s scary, the success or otherwise, or is perceived to be inside and out (and that’s his priority) will determine much politically in Europe. In the UK it will be interesting to see how the fortunes of Reform perform they are on very tricky ground and no surprised that they are so far absent from the debate and keeping their heads down. Trump is travelling along the edge of disaster at home on many fronts but it’s not clear his fanboys will realise it, Americans are taught being tough and superior in the… Read more »
Wouldn’t like to see that. I think the UK is still a force for good. A defender of freedom and democracy. AfD are forecast to achieve a 7% majority in the German elections, following Italy into a nationalistic government. What’s the driver’s for this and the rise of the UKs own Reform party? It’s easily and clearly the unfettered net migration into these countries that has driven a sense of deep dissatisfaction. Labour were voted in with a massive majority and will be voted in again and take the wind out of Reform and a dwindling Tory party if they… Read more »
I agree, I’m not particularly worried about Russia, it’s completely incapable militarily and economically but the USA scares the shit out of me. I’m now kind of hoping Elon starts gutting the Pentagon next because atleast we won’t have to worry about defending Canada as well as the Baltics. No doubt Kier will be off to Washington to try and calm the Donald down. I am sure it will work as he seems to parrot the phrase of the last person he spoke to, it’s obvious now British intelligence has an entire Trump program and no doubt every British politician… Read more »
Spot on. Trumps support is purely based on what he can get out of you, he’s so anti Ukraine now simply. because it refuses to give him a 50% deal on its important mineral resources pretty much forever and that it’s President has the audacity to stop him looking good getting a headline deal that makes him look good internally whatever the reality of the deal, he feels he can make his supporters buy anything internally though as 80% of Americans are negative to Putin this might be dangerous ground, but then he escaped reality a long time ago and… Read more »
Ben Wallace could drown them in b*ll sh!t he prroduces enough of it drown an armoured guards division. The Russians aren’t coming. What do we have they want? Resources? None. Manufacturing capability? None. Cities that are socially stable? None. Just exactly is it that makes a worth a potential a nuclear exchange? Absolutely nothing. Our politicians are causing enough destruction without help from outside. We are seeing the reach of Russian military power right now in the Ukraine. Zelensky is a comedian who rose to fame for playing the piano with his Ben Wallace not a leader with gravits or… Read more »
Ronald Regan was an actor and ended up being probably the single most successful US President since FDR..probably the greatest leader of any western democracy since FDR and Churchill.
Stephan has gone so far off the deep end that they are now having a go at the journal itself, says a lot about a troll’s desperation doesn’t it?
The joke of course being that by posting Steph is just making George more money by increasing his ad revenue, if they really wanted to hurt him they’d just stop coming here.
@Dern This site makes it easy for trolls to register and express pro-Russian views. Until the moderation policy changes, unfortunately we have to live with it. I admire much of what you post here, so this is my contribution in support. The overwhelming view in the West – until Trump won the 2024 US election anyway – is that the war criminal Putin should not be allowed to invade neighbouring countries and attempt to conquer them by force. This principle has been in place since WW2, when Hitler argued that German speaking areas of Czechoslovakia should be governed by the… Read more »
Or maybes Trump is drawing him out so he thinks he has won and will get all the information he needs to understand what Putin wants to then let him fall at the last hurdle to only give a deal that works for the West.
It could be a masterclass in diplomacy, but then again it is Trump and a real estate broker dealing with it.
Trump is trying to set a precedent about securing ecomonics/ boarders. If he say that it’s ok for Mad Orch to do it he will be justified in going North and South on CONUS, because the nasty world is going to invade. Rest of world is reaching tipping point. Either sit back and let the now 4 lunatic leaders do what they want or band together make/buy each others goods and stop buying/selling to the mad houses.
David,
In your parallel with 1938, didn’t the West sell out over Russia’s seizure of the Crimea in 2014? So we are not blameless. We are modern appeasers too.
Also, whilst Chamberlain was appeasing Hitler (which arguably was Realpolitik) he was rearming Britain massively and as a consequence the RAF won the Battle of Britain. Keir is not doing that – he cant get any more money out of Reeves.
The west put sanction on Russia over Crimea and never recognised Russias conquest so it is far from appeasement. It did most things short of going to war with Russia. Technically it’s illegal for the UK to go to war without a UN resolution unless the country or a treaty ally is attacked.
Gee whiz Stephaniski, I think you should just toddle off into a corner and drop dead.
Wow someone expresses a different opinion and you lot start scream pro russian troll. If that was enough your basically throwing in death threats!
🙄
Oh god another one comes in to support ‘her’? Her comments historically on here show exactly what she is and her particular comment above was just a moronic wind up attempt containing nothing constructive whatsoever, just an attempt to take the discussion away from its important crux. A different point of view has to actually contain something more substantial than ‘Putin doesn’t want to invade Britain’ or ‘Britain has no value’ to have any worth beyond that of Lord Haw Haw. After all anyone with half a brain can see Europe has value many times beyond the basket case that… Read more »
Wallace is an amateur compared to Sergei Lavrov, he really is in the premier league of talking utter deluded tripe, its quite impressive in isolation.
James,
Wallace was a Defence Secretary and I have no problem with his recent Defence-orientated pronouncements, but what exactly are you calling deluded tripe from Wallace? He says Trump is parroting Russian propaganda – true. Also said that US-Russia peace talks have echoes of appeasement – true.
Lavrov is Foreign Minister – different role. He is the ‘tripe master.’ He said many times that Russia was not going to invade Ukraine…before Russia invaded Ukraine!
I think he was talking about Lavrov’s tripe.
Yeah, the Eastern Eeyore’s a really impressive bullshitter. The Russian Ambassador here also has some serious form, and looks like he could be Eeyore’s comedy brother. The interview yesterday where Victoria Derbyshire ripped him a new one is well worth seeing!
Stephanie, Apart from being very negative about the state of UK, overly so I believe, the UK is geographically in a very important position sitting astride all of the main sea lanes into North Western Europe as well as being underneath many of the main airways between Europe and North America. Control these islands and a hostile player could wield considerable influence across much of Europe at least for a significant time. Many of the great ports of Europe could be blockaded and it would take time to increase capacity at unaffected ports in the south. Europe’s economy could be… Read more »
Russia hasn’t got the capacity to knock out the UK. Their options for trying that are limited and would provoke a massive military response from the UK and it’s allies. How would Russia a country that has uniformly failed to defeat Ukraine, defeat the UK? The Russians have failed to achieve air superiority, have failed to deliver a sustained cruise or ballistic missiles campaign that was accurate and crippled any part of Ukrainian society. Up against the RAF and NATO they’d be shredded. I’d like to think Russia’s greatest threat is it’s submarine arm. Hopefully plans are well established to… Read more »
Hi Mr Bell, I didn’t actually mention Russia to be fair. Yes I agree that Russia would be unable to knock us out on their own. Although they could do serious damage to our economy if the US does back away from NATO and opens up gaps in the NATO coverage in the North Atlantic. Russian Northern Fleet subs are still there, old they may be, but they could get lucky. I was highlighting that the UK had value simply because of its geographic position and controlling these islands would give a hostile actor significant leverage over Europe. So no… Read more »
Then stop reading it and please stop commenting. Then we will all be alot happier
Trump was a game snow host (certainly not even a successful businessman) ironically created by a British tv Producer who in this now circular World of madness is his special envoy to Britain. Fact is, just as that fifteen minutes of fame barrow boy Sugar gets ridiculous support as a popularist PM amongst the ill educated, so his more evil equivalent in the US got an appeal and myth of competence (but in reality just exposure as a celebrity), that he in no way earned or deserved. The rest is sadly history. As for what Putin would gain from trampling… Read more »
It is time to think the unthinkable. NATO Minus the Americans . Although in the start it will be hard without their muscle, with political will and funding, the muscle can be rebuilt by the other NATO nations. The biggest problem I see is in the command and control which has always been supplied by and large by the Americans and coming up with a European equivalent could get very messy with country self interest and politics at play. If Mertz win the German elections on Sunday, I could foresee the 300 billion in frozen Russian assets being given to… Read more »
Michael, It is not certain that Trump will leave the NATO organisation but he might just withdraw from the unified military command structure, as de Gaulle did. Command and Control – senior US military officers in NATO posts can be replaced by Canadian/European ones. More numerous, more junior US staff can also be replaced. More difficult to replace are NATO bases on US soil such as JFC Norfolk, Va…and assets that are unique to the US or held in large number by the US and are NATO-assigned. However, an equally big problem is lacking US strategic nuclear umbrella in future.… Read more »
The CDU are topping the polls in the German elections. If Merz becomes Chancellor we can expect major shift in a good direction which will bring GY closer to the UK, FR position.
Fingers crossed he can stick one on the AfD loons.
Interesting wiki entry. Merz is described as economically liberal, socially conservative, convinced Atlanticist. Did his military service as an artillery gunner. Was member of Cartelverbrand. Should get along well with J.D. Vance 🙂
Europe can sustain the Ukrainian war. I agree the frozen assets worth £300 billion would do that for a long time. Putin would no doubt be very very angry and some form of attempted spoiling actions would ensue. The UK and it’s allies will have to be prepared to shoot down aircraft or sink Russian shipping breaking the law and infringing on our territorial rights or conducting attacks against our sub sea infrastructure. It will only take a single spark to ignite a wider conflict and Trumps actions have done the opposite of finding peace, he’s just making a wider… Read more »
Laughable. Why is it Britain’s job to “fortify” Europe? We can’t even fortify our own borders. Ridiculous.
Perhaps we can find a way of monetizing all the hot air that vapid politicians produce. That would definitely fund a couple of armoured brigades.
The problem is that Europe can’t agree on anything. I think there is a real possibility that it could splinter into different defence groups with their own treaty agreements. The US sees Europe as a useless ally now, a burden. It is looking at a pivotal change of dumping Europe for Russia. It wants to do business with Russia and possibly do a nuclear deal to save money. I wouldn’t be surprised if Trump gives Putin some kind of Presidential pardon. Another problem for the US is that Europe has zero interest in a war with China. While we like… Read more »
Top comment.
T W Monkey, very interesting points. How about : if UK & Canada team up and make Ukraine as a territory, such as NWT/Yukon. There are lots of fine Ukrainians in Canada Prairies. And UK, Canada has enough military to be peace keeping. Canada has a history of being peace keepers in UN. We would not even extort half of their economy– just normal business.
My take? You just have to read the daily comments on here to see why a future war is unavoidable. Total and utter disagreement. That travels upwards from the pub to Parliament. People have different priorities. Defence is not a vote catcher, hospital waiting lists are. Fragmented populations are easy to exploit. Europe is fragmented, a collection of warring tribes was how I once heard it described. Meanwhile the enemy within? From Islamic terrorists, useless politicians, uncontrolled migration and a supposed “far right” threat ( please explain that one to me lol ) Top it with a new Potus who… Read more »
and who will benefit from any war? The islamists in this country who would grow unchecked?
@rmj MIC
Small potatoes.
The Islamists are the job of the police and MI5 to combat. And they’re less than 1% of the Muslim population in the UK. Small fish.
Russia is the much, much bigger fish that needs frying.
Really? You amaze me with your insight.
In 2023, 80% of the Counter Terrorism Police network’s live investigations were Islamist while 10% were extreme Right-Wing.
Source?
And that’s the job of counter terrorism police. Not the military.
Putin wants us to be so obsessed with Muslims and immigrants that we ignore what he’s doing.
He also wants the West divided.
Don’t do as he wants.
John, Alternatvely many European leaders might just ride out the storm for 4 years until Trump is replaced…and not do enough on Defence.
Many think our modest uplift to 2.5% won’t even happen until 2032, long after Trump has gone.
@Graham certain republicans have already started making noises about repealing the 22nd ammendment and getting Trump a third term. So…. it might not be a case of riding out the storm. (And even if he is replaced, the republican party is not in a good place, Theocratic Fascism is pretty core to MAGA at this point. Trump might get replaced by a competent Fascist in 2028).
Don’t they need a 2/3 majority in both houses for that?
Who knows? With the Supreme Court they have now, I don’t think any of the normal rules apply…
I don’t understand how our PM proudly sits there and announces Europe cannot guarantee Ukraine security without the US, it’s the truth but proudly saying it is just embarrassing for Europe. The UK, French and German economies combined are huge and it’s a choice successive governments have made. You know the worst thing, not one government has a plan to do anything about it either, European countries have the means to decide now whether they want to shape the world and be strong players or leave it to China and the US and just be passengers. What needs to happen… Read more »
Totally agree, we should stop the army reducing in size and try to increase it going forward but in manageable numbers, a couple of thousand a year. The Navy and Air Force both need serious investment and expansion, concentrate recruitment for these areas and increase the amount of equipment we have. Additional Typhoon’s, get a trainer fleet up and running for pilots, order more T26 and T31’s, P8 etc etc we need more of virtually everything and need to start ordering sensibly now.
May be not the P8 under the current conditions. Japan do a specialist but more expensive MPA, the Kawasaki P-1. They offered us production of the aircraft back in 2015. Given our close ties over Tempest I would tempted quietly ask if they would be willing to sell us a few. They have 34 in service and a target of 60, so still in production at a rate of about 5 per year apparently… Otherwise you echo my thoughts. Build the Army up gradually so that we can provide at least a heavy div. with plenty of support arms e.g.… Read more »
Re the Scotstoun idea, Healey has been negotiating a defence pact with Norway today.
Yeh, just seen the reports.
My first thought was hopefully they are be talking about T26. It would be really good news if that could be finalised.
Cheers CR
Yes, this is very sensible. We need to play to our own strengths and sensibilities. Maritime and air power, and leave rapid army expansion to those who do it better and need it most.
Adrian, the UK has had a small army since the early 90s…and its main role is expeditionary warfare, with priority to the NATO area.
Should be bigger (say 30 %) and better equipped with more ‘enablers’…more artillery, more mechanical. Even with 30% we still need to be a more profficient/ lethal force..I know that’s a general view shared by many on here..where the split is perhaps the discussion.
i’m sure zelensky knows freegear eventually betrays everybody
as for ther UK ‘fortifying’ europe, of course we have an interest, but the trick will be to get the europeans to pay their fair share, as the USA has already found out
The independence and security of a sovereign Ukraine is a matter of common justice and fairness. That’s the reason the UK stands by Ukraine. Culturally and historically the US could be relied on to do the same. MAGA is just selfishness and economic self preservation in the face of a rising China. Ditto for Putin; Russia’s economy is also suffering. Meanwhile inscrutable China sits on massive rare earth minerals that everyone needs and watches from the sidelines as the post WW2 superpowers US and Russia destroy themselves and Ukraine. Putin and Trump have enough in common to make peace in… Read more »
@Paul. P Xi is not stupid. The Chinese have patience and will move when they are ready. What worries me most is the UK governments willingness to allow them to trammel all over the UK. They play a long game and have infiltrated UK universities and other institutions. Their “super embassy” will no doubt be used to undermine Europe. Also I read a US Army War College paper on Chinas ambitions for Siberia and Arctic access. There is much more to them than meets the eye. Therefore I do believe Putin is being set up by Xi.
i’m sure zelensky knows freegear eventually betrays everybody
as for ther UK ‘fortifying’ europe, of course we have an interest, but the trick will be to get the europeans to pay their fair share, as the USA has already found out !
Germany has upped their defence budget, adding 100billion euros to a uparming fund, Poland is buying just about every weapon system on the Planet…. meanwhile the UK?
I think “getting Europe to pay their fair share” is very much a glass house throwing stones at this point.
Britain should ‘fortify Europe’ against Russia. This is half right. we have fought two wars to keep EU free and what have we are treated like some thing stuck to the bottom of a shoe. We have just discovered a gas field in Lincolnshire holding some £115 Billion worth of gas. Rather than buy gas abroad we should increase defence spending by £5 Billion a year for the next 5 years. Any person that has been unemployed for more than 1 year should do 2 years National Service and learn a trade be that logistics, catering, IT, what ever We… Read more »
Meby, you are advocating the UK leaving NATO, clearly. We would be on our own.
I am starting to think we are already on our own. The UK just made a massive rallying cry for Ukraine and offered to send troops. Kier seems to have been met with silence from European allies.
I’m not hearing anything from Japan, Canada or Australia either.
We are going to need a bigger navy and Airforce for sure.
I can only think of Afghanistan where we fought with the EU…. hardly an operation to keep it free.
I think he means the world wars. Poor thing doesn’t know any history. Or English, by the looks of it.
NATO have failed in stopping Russia invading, and succeeding, in taking territory from a European country. Trump’s assumptions are correct, the war must stop now, and there is nothing NATO can do, to change that decision – Ukraine will never push Russia back. This outcome was obvious from the start. The reason is simple, Russia is a major nuclear power. The cold war ended, NATO kept expanding – why? The UK spending more on defence, to fight a conventional war with Russia, is pointless, as that war is never going to happen. A new world order is emerging, where western… Read more »
@ brucedog. True a lot of what you say. My only concern is Northern Europe, I would be happy to contribute to deter anyone, not just Russia. A future flashpoint imo is the Arctic, and that affects us and the Nordics, The Baltic is pretty secure now. And the truth of the matter for me? We need a sizable force ( army ) for the potential domestic threats we face. I agree with your statement on “Global Britain”. And yes, a newer world order is emerging.
Yes, a new world order is emerging: China. The challenge is to secure the Judeo-Christian culture which has ensured the prosperity and dominance of the west for centuries. Brexit has put the UK in a unique position to facilitate a coherent western response. The current UK govt has the strongest electoral mandate of any European country and favours pragmatic rather than ideological solutions to difficult problems. I am optimistic.
Funny that, because Ukraine has already pushed Russia back three times…. but facts are so inconvenient aren’t they?
Yes, you wonder how much of a push it would really take, with proper committed backing behind them, to see the Russian side of the front collapse. It’s got to be brittle somewhere, with the beating they’ve taken these last three years.
It would take a considerable push now. Russia has errected considerable defences that have already stopped one major Ukrainian offensive. But what the ZSU has shown multiple times is that when it can either achieve operational surprise (Kharkiv, Kursk, Kyiv) or can effectively strange Russian logistics (Kherson, Kyiv) it can force the Russians back.
The Russian front isn’t brittle (in fact where they’ve prepared to defend it’s rather elastic), but the Russian army doesn’t do maneuver well, and relies heavily on fires and mass.
Thanks, that’s interesting, and encouraging to know there might be a path to victory somewhere 👍🏻
Europe is a big boy now, it doesn’t need us to do their duty.
And we are not in Europe, we are not European.
Yes we are European.
Stop spouting that old cobblers. Anyone with an education past age 12 knows that we’re part of Europe!
We are on the Eurasian tectonic plate but we are actually an island so Marky is right to say we are not part of the European continent but we are part of the Eurasian tectonic plate which is what Marky was alluding to I suspect. However, the UK is near the boundary of this plate, where it interacts with other tectonic features, such as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the North American Plate (so you could argue we have just as much in common with North American…not just language). Moreover, we are not European we are British by culture and law… Read more »
Arguing about tectonic plates is just pointless, sorry. Tectonic plates don’t form the basis of alliances. Culture and shared values do – and we have plenty of that in common with Europe, and increasingly more so than we do with the US, as they keep going further to the right and into insanity under the Orange Moron. We live in a world where we’re no longer the most powerful nation on Earth. We don’t have the Empire any more. Even if we doubled our defence spending, we cannot go at it alone. No one can, realistically. So we must have… Read more »
I would prefer to be aligned with the US than Europe. I certainly don’t feel shared values with France (that hates us), Germany (that hates us)…Spain (that hates us). Need I go on…. We are just a dumping ground for Europe’s illegals…
What are you on about with all this drivel about tectonic plates?? By your logic Japan should be four different countries because it sits astride four different plates. Look, go to Dover, look out over the wet stuff and observe that looming grey thing in the distance. That’s the French coast. That’s the mainland of our continent. That’s where most of our trade comes from and goes to, including food. If it all goes to ratshit over there, the Channel isn’t going to save us from being caught up in it, even if the Russians don’t decide to swim across.… Read more »
Sorry, when did we join the ECHR and what does have to do with the EU?
What a load of cobblers. So stupid, it could be a wah.
Failed your Geography CSE exam I see…
Probably failed all of them!
I am British and I am European. As are you, whether you understand it or not. The facts do not care about your feelings.
Apparently Starmer and Macron are proposing a European ‘reassurance’ force of 25-30k in Ukraine, to secure key infrastructure assets and defend civilian passenger air routes. If the CDU win the German elections may be prepared to contribute. If UK, Fr and GY present Trump and Putin with a united front in support of Zelensky they should prevail.
If Germany is on side they can prevail however I don’t believe there is anything they can show to Trump or do that will get the USA on side. Trump is not playing with a full deck, he is just looking for excuses and fake news he can use to justify decisions. The guy is obsessed with Minerals, I’m not sure he knows what minerals are and what they are used for. Rare earth minerals are not particularly rare. The USA has massive supplies of them. Even the UK has massive supplies of them. What supplies Ukraine has are in… Read more »
I used to know a doctor who told me that the first thing you have to do when you are treating mentally ill people who suffer from delusions, is to agree with them – that what’s happening is very concerning, frightening. Having reassured the patient and gained their trust you can propose some treatment ideas. Dr Trump has gained the trust of Mr Putin by agreeing the value of Russian history, religion and culture and how outrageous it is that the west runs Russia down. I can just imagine Trump saying ‘ know what you mean, tell me about it,… Read more »
I think you may be giving the Donald’s intelligence too much credit. I’d love to think that he was some sort of mandarin Machiavelli, but I fear that he’s really what he tells you his.
Hope springs eternal. Melania is the power behind the throne 😉
It’s a massive politically inconvenient time for Starmer and Reeves as the rot set in under the Tories but it’s Labour that have to sort it all out
Given how bad there first 6 months went in office this is the political opportunity of a life time for them. Big question is can they capitalise on it. Coming out with a 3% defence spending pledge and a tax increase to cover it would make all the difference, A rapid rearmament program from the UK would generate lots of political capital at home and abroad.
Literally pie in the sky…the UK cannot afford 3% of GDP on defence unless we completely cut overseas aid (I’m in favour of this as it is usually fraudulently spent but no chance with a Labour government) and cut benefits (again I’m in favour of this as well but no chance with a Labour government). Anyone earning over £50K in the UK has to pay 48p in every £1 as tax so we are at the tax limit of what people would be willing to pay without serious social disruption (anything over 50p in the £1 and you would get… Read more »
Europe can sustain the Ukrainian war. I agree the frozen assets worth £300 billion would do that for a long time. Putin would no doubt be very very angry and some form of attempted spoiling actions would ensue. The UK and it’s allies will have to be prepared to shoot down aircraft or sink Russian shipping breaking the law and infringing on our territorial rights or conducting attacks against our sub sea infrastructure. It will only take a single spark to ignite a wider conflict and Trumps actions have done the opposite of finding peace, he’s just making a wider… Read more »
Europe does not have the manufacturing capacity or finance to sustain the Ukrainian war. Look at Germany it is hemorrhaging it’s industrial base which was fully reliant on cheap Russian gas and oil. VW are closing three plants in Europe and similarly France is a basket case just like the UK. It’s fantasy land to even think the UK can do any of the things you suggested. For instance, let’s say we do as you suggested and sink Russian shipping. They would do the same for us but they have more submarines than us so they could decimate shipping to… Read more »
I don’t think anyone earning more than fifty large is going to be out on the streets…
Yes, but the New Labour govt and that smarmy git Blair bear a lot of the blame too. If we hadn’t got ourselves involved in pointless unwinnable wars for no good reason then we wouldn’t be in anything like the mess we are now. I’m no pacifist, but what good has that done, sticking so close to the Americans as we did? The French had the right idea, and were unfairly castigated as cheese-eating surrender monkeys for it.
We still await apologies😬
You’ll be waiting a while, I think!
Why should the UK engage in European conflicts again. When we had people like Lord Palmerston we had splendid isolation. The moment we had idiots like Churchill in power (yes he was an idiot and a dangerous one at that) we got involved in WW1 (not our fight and Churchill had the casting vote in cabinet) and then had to bail our Europe a second time (WW2) out of necessity. How did Prime Minister H.H. Asquith portray Churchill: “Winston…has got on all his war-paint, is longing for a sea-fight,” WW1 was an utter catastrophe for the UK. Similarly, WW2 was… Read more »
I am afraid you undermine your own argument. Five years after Palmerston’s speech we were at war with the Russians alongside our French and Ottoman allies. Although the army’s mishandling of the Crimean part was a bit of a shambles, the campaign in the primary theatre of the Baltic was stunningly successful and forced the Russians to sue for peace on British terms, in the process redrawing the map of SE Europe. Palmerston became PM again in 1855 and actually wanted to expand the war: he saw an opportunity to foment unrest within the Russian Empire and degrade the Russian… Read more »
Interesting you mentioned minerals , as I was thinking about this. I understand Trump has asked for 50% of Ukraine minerals in perpetuity in order to ‘fight his corner’. Zelensky quite rightly doesn’t want to agree to this (who in their right mind would He’s fighting to keep his country not lose its wealth). I’m not sure where geographically in Ukraine these mineral deposits are but I wonder if Trump is ‘agreeing’ a similar deal with Putin if he ‘allows’ him to keep his ill gotten gains? ..Also when eNATO has to increase defence spending due to Trumps ‘brinkmanship’ how… Read more »
What is wrong with Trump looking after the US? It’s a very serious question to you. You and many others seem to think American taxpayers should foot the bill for European defence. In the past Europe expected the UK to foot the bill for European defence. Either way it is wrong in my opinion. Elected leaders are elected first and foremost to look after their countries. Take the UK for instance we bring all the waifs and strays to the UK and we don’t consider the well being of our own native people (use the word native which is a… Read more »
You sound very MAGA/Russian/Farage/ADF in both your tone and your taking points which, like so many other comments on other message boards, invariably run along the lines of: it’s not our fight, Putin’s got a point, the bigger issue is that leftists/Democrats are trying to replace the natives with pliant immigrants (who steal your money and attack your women) etc.
Anything that will subvert our collective will to stand alongside our allies on the Continent.
He also has a decidedly odd and historically illiterate obsession with Lord Palmerston.
The headline picture showing the carrier Queen Elizabeth is perhaps unfortunate give that CSG25 looks set to be cancelled as the escorts are likely to be needed in the Black Sea and the RAF is insisting that its F-35B’s simply can’t be spared from the European theater of operations, The mismatch between the RN owning the aircraft carriers but the RAF owning the aircraft that operate from them is being brutally highlighted again, as it was in the mid/late 2000’s when Joint Force Harrier was devoted to Afghanistan, leaving the decks of Illustrious and Ark Royal empty of jets (baring… Read more »
First thing Starmer should not do is go to Washington. Trump will make him look an utter arse at the press conference. Starmer will be hung out to dry by the media if he is seen sucking up to that lunatic in the White House and he will be cast into the dustbin of history with Chamberlain.
Starmer wouldn’t look like an arse he is an arse. I mean the whole of the labour government is a shambles just like the Tories were before. The UK is a third rate nation, massively in debt, with a crumbling NHS and schools, and major Islamic terrorist issues and boats invading UK sovereign territory each day. Perhaps Starmer (the tool makers son) could focus on the UK’s issues before trying to fix a non-existent problem in the US or indeed trying to act as world’s policeman in Ukraine when we could fit all the UK army in Old Trafford. We… Read more »
Exactly.
Great recapitulation of Putin’s propaganda there from Matthew! Well done. 10/10 Quisling points.
We SHOULD rid ourselves of the Chagos Islands. Unlike the Falklands, no British people actually live there, and they’re of no strategic value to us as we don’t have the assets to take advantage of them. They’re also an inconveniently long way away from the NATO area. Let the Americans own them and take the flak for their colonialism. Even better, we should sell them to Trump for an absolute shit-ton of gold. The Deal of the Century!!!
First and foremost, the UK is no match for any serious power in the world. It is an old relic well behind the times. Secondly, Russia is not the problem, the West is the problem. A collection of dying Marxist failed states well on the path to becoming caliphates. The UK needs to shield itself against globalism and mass immigration. That and Marxist politicians. Ende.
Erdling…my sentiments exactly. Excellent post and a breath of fresh air from all these Marxist armchair generals frothing at the mouth because Trump burst their bubble. The UK has a choice now…deal with the main threat which is Islamist terrorist and uncontrolled borders and get rid of all the woke crap or believe in the fairy tail of the big bogeyman Russia….and ignore the obvious threats at home through mass uncontrolled legal and illegal migrants. My one top threat to the UK is Islamist terrorism….oh and also any Labour or Tory government as well…which caused these issues in the first… Read more »
You are J.D. Vance and I claim my £5 🙂
🤣 Go easy on him, he’s trying his best!
Matt you asked where the following came from:
In 2023, 80% of the Counter Terrorism Police network’s live investigations were Islamist while 10% were extreme Right-Wing.
It’s the government’s own website:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-review-of-prevents-report-and-government-response/independent-review-of-prevent-accessible
It’s section 3.10 of the report:
3.10 It is worth restating that Islamist terrorism is currently the largest terrorist threat facing the United Kingdom. In the years since the 2017 Westminster Bridge attack, the vast majority of realised and foiled plots have been Islamist in nature. At present, 80% of the Counter Terrorism Police network’s live investigations are Islamist while 10% are extreme right-wing.
I can imagine Paul you are Two Tier Keir or is that Free gear Kier….alternatively maybe the tool made by the toolmaker…
You got me. My father was indeed a toolmaker 😂
Very skilled job.
Yawn. Can’t you think of any slurs of your own?
The United Kingdom, like all of Europe, is being invaded by Islamofascism, but Starmer is a pro-Islamic endophobe who supports this invasion and racial substitution, and here we are still talking about the nonsense that Russia is going to invade Europe. It’s mind-boggling; they live in another galaxy.
Endophobe. Had to look that one up. But you are right. Its a problem for him and will be his undoing.
Ah, the ‘Great Replacement Theory,’ much beloved of Neo-Nazi groups and assorted Far-Right nutters.
The Russians are very good at coming up with this kind of divisive propaganda, very much in keeping with their earlier work, The Protocols of Sion.
People aren’t endophobes, you numpty (I had to look it up too.) Most of us are just sufficiently secure and confident in the strength, worth and durability of our own culture and civilization not to feel threatened by anybody else’s. You must have a pretty low opinion of Western or British culture to think it can’t survive a fairly minor influx people who actually want to be here. Patriotism is about how much you cherish your own country, not how hard you can hate everybody else’s. Honestly, you people must live in mortal terror of finding Muslims under the bed!… Read more »
He’s not British. Russian troll for sure.
Seems to be a fair few more of these numpties on this site recently.
I did wonder. He could do with a stiff upper lip anyway, to go with his dictionary.
If you were a mainland European, and considering what happened in WW2, you might be assuming the U.K. has the rear supply routes secure and offering a sizeable reinforcement force. The reality of it is that “there’s nobody here but us chickens”.
Propaganda? Have you seen the cities of Europe? Paris, London, Birmingham, it’s incredible, there are no English in London anymore, can’t you see it? You know, the worst thing, you know it perfectly well but your endophobic and ultra-leftist fanaticism prevents you from recognizing it. Thank you for collaborating in the destruction of Europe and encouraging the invasion. People like you support these Islamofascist invaders who practice sexist, reactionary and totalitarian customs, you hate us as can be seen in the constant Islamofascist attacks in Europe. Greetings sir.
They hate us not you, sorry sir
Funny, every time I go to London there are loads of English. White English, too, as I’m sure that’s what you mean.
I know, I was there the other day, hordes of football fans chanting aggressively at anyone who looked at them!
If they’re sexist and reactionary then you should get on famously! 👍🏻
They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Immigrants come because they see safety; western culture has stood the test of time. Its not perfect and constantly at risk of being undermined but a man of the West always bounces back and everyone gets a shot at life and family. The trick is to forgive and forget.
@John, . And, Greenland in the Artic do they need security? Only one foreign power has Greenland as their target.