Brits have been warned of an impending 'widespread war' which could affect Europe for the next few years, according to a number of experts.
We've all heard mumblings from the Kremlin about a potential bombing of the UK, but it's often done by propagandists who make a living off outlandish and outrageous statements about what the nation should do to assert its dominance in Europe.
Men like Vladimir Solovyov are known associates and mouthpieces of Vladimir Putin, so whether we like it or not, there's a chance that their claims that Britain will be subject to an attack holds some bearing.
It's said that Russia's ongoing 'grey war', which consists of cyber attacks, sabotage, and misinformation to the public, is only set to grow by the turn of the decade.
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Speaking to The i Paper, Lord Harris, the Chairman of the UK's National Preparedness Commission, spoke of the UK's need to be better prepared in a military and societal sense.
He claimed that we have to brace for our lives to be 'changed or likely to be changed in the foreseeable future', as he further advised having a 72-hour kit ready at any given opportunity, while urging the government to have its 'Prepare' website advertised on TV, radio, social media and even in school classrooms as a way to alert the masses.
Harris isn't alone though, as the MI5 chief was pointed towards Russia's continued use of military drones and fighter jets into the airspace of neighbouring nations despite not having the permission to do so.
Sir Ken McCallum spoke of the nation being 'committed to causing havoc and destruction' not just in the conflict with Ukraine, but around the world.
While giving evidence to parliament's committee on the UK's national security strategy last week, he claimed: “I am quite struck by the fact that, whenever I talk to people in our military, they are expecting potentially widespread war in Europe within a very short time frame - three or four years.”
Former defence minister Tobias Ellwood told the publication that what may happen is 'what we have now but on steroids: more cyber attacks, cutting undersea cables, assignations, incursions, and economic challenges as we fight over energy and mineral access, as well as proxy wars in Africa'.
“We must be concerned about the vulnerability of our critical infrastructure,” he added.
“We know that it’s aged, hasn’t had a very good record of maintenance, and of course, it was also designed for rather different conditions, in terms of the climate that it’s now facing.”
In response to these growing worries, NATO has increased its patrols over its eastern border with Russia, as Harris said that he expects Russia to 'apply pressure on the rest of Europe' as time goes on.
Harris further explained: “We are still, compared with many other nations, ill-prepared not only for conflict, but for all the other things that are on the risk register, including climate-related things, and that we really ought to be making much more of a national effort on preparedness and readiness in general terms, not just in terms of the threats from hostile states.
“I suspect if you spoke to most members of the public, they wouldn’t see this as something where their lives are being changed or likely to be changed in the foreseeable future.
“But we are undoubtedly closer to widespread war than we probably have been for 60-plus years. We have seen the escalation of things that have happened.”
Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, the former head of MI5, claimed last month that the UK may already be at war with Russia anyway, due to the cuber attacks and 'grey zone' activity that has gone on already.
In a statement to the i Paper, a Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “Britain is entering a new era of warfighting readiness, driven by the biggest sustained boost in defence spending since the end of the Cold War.
“We are delivering on the Strategic Defence Review by investing £6bn in munitions this Parliament, including £1.5bn in an ‘always on’ pipeline for munitions and building at least six new energetics and munitions factories in the UK, creating British jobs and boosting British exports.”
They added that £1bn is being invested in 'a digital targeting web' to take the nation to the 'leading edge of defence innovation', allowing them to destroy enemy threats quicker.
Topics: Europe, Russia, Vladimir Putin, UK News
Joshua Nair