PM Rishi Sunak pledges £500m more aid to Zelensky in a press conference in Warsaw, Poland. The PM and the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg held a joint news conference in Poland.
More than two years into the Ukraine war, Vladimir Putin has doubled down. UK and European allies are steeling their economies and armed forces for warRussia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 saw the horrors of a large-scale war darken Europe's doorstep for the first time since the end of World War II.
As a result, many countries are reversing decades of peacetime policy to reignite their war engines. Others never stopped and are only consolidating efforts to ensure they are fit for conflict. A British soldier looks into a telescopic sight as he holds his sniper rifle during the NATO DRAGON-24 military exercise in Korzeniewo, northern Poland, March 4, 2024
After years of drawing down military capabilities in the UK and Europe following the collapse of the Soviet Union, such resources were until recently languishing at levels far below those maintained during the Cold War.NATO expects two-thirds of its members to commit 2% of their GDP to defence spending by the end of this year, of which at least 20% must go toward the development of new military technologies and equipment.
The rest of the budget is to facilitate procurement, boost manufacturing capacity and enhance research and development in crucial defence domains, including 'countering hypersonic missiles, developing a range of unmanned vehicles in the air and on the ground, and ensuring secure space communication,' as well as 'next generation defence systems, such as helicopters and mid-size cargo aircraft'.
Ukrainian servicemen of the 82nd Separate Air Assault Brigade prepare for combat Challenger 2 tank in an undisclosed location near frontline in Zaporizhzhia region But many European countries still maintain national service - and others have recently reintroduced it following Russia's invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago.
Meanwhile, one in three Finns are reservists, meaning Finland boasts one of Europe's largest armies despite having a tiny population of just 5.6 million.Young men called up for national service perform basic shooting drills at a training ground in York. Mandatory national service in Britain continued after the Second World War but was abandoned in 1960
For now, the UK continues to resist calls from the continent to reintroduce national service, which was abandoned in 1960. And General Sir Richard Shirreff, a former NATO commander, warned that the UK might need to introduce a system akin to Finland's, in which all 18-year-old males are required to perform 6-12 months of service in the military, or with border guard units.Sir Richard, the Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe from 2011 to 2014, said earlier this year: 'I think now...
The drills are not just reserved for land forces - hundreds of military aircraft and more than 50 naval vessels will also perform drills to gauge and strengthen NATO's air and maritime capabilities. Norway has hosted NATO's Cold Response winter training exercises since 2006, but this year launched 'Nordic Response' - a dramatically enhanced programme that saw 20,000 troops participate in expanded drills on the frozen coasts of the remote Finnmark region some 300 miles north of the Arctic Circle.
This is set for publication in the coming weeks - almost 18 months after the US Department of Defense announced the creation of a new office dedicated to improving America's capabilities in the High North. The country, which shares a land border with Ukraine, is close to signing a new defence pact that would see Chisinau increase its intelligence sharing with European partners, participate in joint military drills and win inclusion into the EU's joint weapons procurement programmes, according to the FT.
NATO's newest member sensationally abandoned two centuries of military non-alignment to join the security bloc in March this year, and its parliament is now set to vote on a Defence Cooperation Agreement with the United States in June which will give the US access to military bases in Sweden. Meanwhile, Britain and France - the only European countries to have their own nuclear arsenals - are both in the process of upgrading their existing capabilities and adding new ones in the coming years.
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