British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday pledged to put his country on a "war footing", announcing a plan to significantly strengthen the UK's defence capabilities and invest billions of pounds in nuclear and other weapons as part of a new military strategy in a more dangerous world. This was reported by UNN with reference to the New York Times.
If you want to prevent conflict, the best way to do that is to prepare for conflict.
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The UK's ambitious rearmament plan comes amid increased Russian military aggression in Ukraine, the US retreat from its trajectory of support for Europe and rising global tensions.
Starmer presented his plans hours after one of the most intense aerial bombardments of the three-year war, when Ukrainian drones struck air bases deep inside Russian territory.
The review, prepared by George Robertson, former NATO Secretary General, was commissioned last year shortly after Starmer's election victory. But its task has taken on a new urgency amid growing evidence of a shift in foreign policy by the Trump administration and its ambiguous, and sometimes overtly obsequious or condescending, attitude towards Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The review will be published this afternoon, but among the recommendations released by the government in advance were the purchase of up to 7,000 units of British-made long-range weapons and the creation of a new cyber command, as well as an investment of £1 billion, equivalent to $1.35 billion, in digital capabilities.
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The British government has announced its intention to increase the number of its fleet of nuclear submarines, preparing for potential armed aggression from Russia. Britain will build 12 nuclear-powered submarines