Putin’s ‘genocidal war crimes’ in Ukraine evidence that Starmer must increase UK defence spending

Putin’s ‘genocidal war crimes’ in Ukraine evidence that Starmer must increase UK defence spending

I don’t think people have really hoisted home the fact that this is a genocidal war crimes attack on a children’s hospital and a maternity hospital implemented and executed by the current chair of the United Nations security Council and therefore a signatory to the UN Charter on human rights I mean it is disgusting it is beyond disgusting let’s bring in General Sir Richard Sheriff former NATO Deputy Supreme Allied Commander for Europe um good afternoon to you sir Richard good afternoon what do you make of what we heard from uh s Patrick Sanders then do you think um that he’s right um and indeed sck Carter seemed to take the same view um we basically don’t have the forces to fight a war uh he’s right but he’s not the first person to be saying this um if you look back this is exactly what I was saying 10 years ago uh and this has been a constant theme and I’m afraid to say that um even during that you know Nick Carter may be saying that that that we’re not ready to fight a war but I would ask what he was what was he doing when he was chief of Defense staff because quite clearly the message then was we were not able to fight we’re way behind the curve and I’m afraid that even 2.5% of GDP won’t put us into a position ready to fight a war we need a massive Splurge of cash which is of course in seriously short supply and a fundamental mindset shift that says we’ve got to be ready to do to do this yeah so Patrick saers saying we should spend um closer to 3% is that the sort of figure that you think that the new government should be trying to reach it’s probably a minimum because what’s got to start you’ve got to start by establishing it all very well bandying percentages of GDP around uh you’ve got to look at the output you get from that and that’s going to require a fundamental reappraisal of the way defense does its business cures its Weaponry uh it’s going to require mobilization of Defense Industries but above all it’s going to require a very close analysis of what is wrong where are the gaps uh set against the requirements of 21st century conflict and the lessons of what we’re seeing in Ukraine in terms of the need for mass and presence and then you’ve got to try and work out the sums on how you how you match the requirement to what’s available and of course uh that devastating attack in Ukraine yesterday um including the strike on a children’s hospital in keev just underlines the urgency of all of this um but we do know that the incoming government is going to hold a a defense and um strateg strategic Security review I mean is that a good first step or is there a danger that that just means that any decisions get delayed well firstly you’re absolutely right about the attack in Kev and I I don’t think people have really hoisted home the fact that this is a genocidal war crimes attack on a children’s hospital and a maternity hospital implemented and executed by the current chair of the United Nations security Council and therefore a signatory to the UN Charter on human rights I mean it is disgusting it is beyond disgusting and and this should really focus the NATO Summit on the only outcome that is going to sort this out which is defeat of Russia in Ukraine and that is what the aim should be that is what NATO should be aiming to support to support Ukraine in achieving defeat of Russia now that means a mindset shift absolutely it needs a mindset shift um time is short but to answer the essence of your question you can’t start sorting out the the problems until you’re quite clear about the problems are what what they are so I think it is right to conduct a defense review uh but it’s got to be a defense review a wartime defense review conducted against very tight timelines and with a clear remit to sort out the problems identify the problems and come up with Solutions and for my money I would be shutting up the Chiefs and all the joint staffs and the Army the Navy and the Air Force staffs uh in the in the defense Academy and throwing away the key and telling them you got four weeks to sort it out uh and you’re not going St home until you have do you think it’s going to be difficult for Sakia stama the new prime minister going out there to Nato to try to play a leading role and get some kind of unified commitment to continuing to support Ukraine um when we have this background of um a lack of defense spending on our own Armed Forces well there will be I suspect a warm welcome for uh our new Prime Minister um because of the because of what he represents in terms of a of a new broom um and that my goodness me is needed after the last 14 years but equally it’s one thing to say to talk to talk but it’s another thing to walk it and people will be watching and waiting to see where the substance is and that’s the only thing that counts is what what is the substance that Britain can bring to the party and just finally on that NATO Summit do you think that there does need to be some kind of further long-term commitment in terms of what actual Hardware they’re going to give to Ukraine because president zalinski is going to be there he’s going to be stressing the need in particular for more air defenses yeah NATO has got to do what NATO has set up to do which is to think strategically about defense and security um the only there needs to be number one recognition that the only way to achieve peace and Security in the transatlantic region the Euro Atlantic region against a Russia that is determined to build another Russian Empire determined to remove Ukraine from the map as a sovereign state and will present a ever an everpresent security threat the only way to achieve success peace therefore is for NATO to establish a band of deterrent steel around Eastern Europe to include Ukraine as a NATO member and the only way you’re going to get there is first by defeating Russia Ukraine defeating Russia in Ukraine and once that has happened then NATO can admit Ukraine uh all the talk about hardware and that’s s thing that’s important but it’s got to be done as part of a strategic plan which achieve which which lays out the strategy that I’ve just outlined Sir Richard Sheriff uh former NATO Deputy Supreme Allied Commander for Europe um really good to speak to you thanks so much um well let’s now speak to fabis potier he is a former director of policy planning at NATO who worked with Secretary General Yen stoltenberg and Anders fo rasmuson beforehand um good afternoon to you Fab good afternoon do you think that um at this NATO Summit um there should be agreement on a process for allowing Ukraine to join I I I think before answering you have to put that into broader context the real real question that the NATO leaders need to ask themselves when they arrive in this Summit is do they want to celebrate history or do they want to make hisory I think celebrating history is somehow pretty straightforward it involves a nice photo op uh you know nice statement about the strengths of the alliance for 75 years but making host history is obviously a different uh scale of of commitment and ambition however it’s what is needed uh when you look at the kind of threats and adversaries that the broader Western Community is facing and at the center of that that’s where I come back to your question is Ukraine unless as the previous interview said unless we are to include Ukraine into the alliance in order to guarantee Ukraine’s sovereignty for the long hul we are going to keep on having war at the edges of the alliance and possibly even War creeping inside youres so yes I do think that it is critical if you want to make history and have the West more in the driving seat that Ukraine is uh uh becomes a member of the of the NATO there will be a huge focus on Joe Biden uh on his Frailty um as you know uh some even in his own party are now questioning whether he’s the one to stop Donald Trump do you think that that adds a a greater urgency to these calls that we’re already hearing particularly from some Eastern European nations to Trump proof NATO to put in place long-term commitments so that if Trump does return to the White House after the presidential election there are binding commitments there for helping Ukraine I I think first I would not want to comment on on President Biden’s help but I think I will want to comment on the heal of his policies and the Frailty you see maybe in the person is also the FY you see in his own Ukraine policy where indeed the US has expanded a great deal of resources uh it’s undeniable but it’s clearly not enough and the attack yesterday uh by the Despicable attack by the Russians against a children’s hospital is another evidence that good enough is not enough to get through the winning Finishing Line for Ukraine we have a strategy of avoiding defeat for Ukraine but we don’t have a strategy of winning simply because President Biden and few other NATO leaders are scared of the Russian defeat and because they cannot contemplate that notion therefore they’re constantly asking the ukrainians to fight with the AR one arm basically tied in their back so I would I would more be critical about President Biden’s prty of his own Ukraine policy as to the broader question um I I think this is obviously about the Trump proofing NATO I think Trump proofing might be a thing but the key is whether we can be compatible with a trump Administration and here is not just about protecting NATO or protecting some NATO spending priorities but it’s about showing whoever is going to be in the over offit on the 6th of January about showing showing that basically Europe is not is ready to defend itself and to defend Europe and not just to talk about European Defense and still be dependent on the United States and I think that’s the key thing that falls on the NATO leaders and how important do you think um could be the role for our new prime minister um sakir starma he’s made it clear that he wants to uh continue um Britain’s commitment its support to Ukraine and we’ve been providing weapons and equipment and training and Zakir stama has made it very clear he wants to continue that there are questions about Britain’s Defense Forces but do you think that despite that saki dama can play a leading role in trying to get these kind of uh commitments and agreements across the alliance I think he can uh even though like you underlined there is a real tension between uh the Strategic priority of supporting Ukraine and here we need to command the United Kingdom’s governments uh for having done so over the years uh and having often led the way to uh big decisions on Weapons Systems but also political decisions including uh uh NATO membership and security guarantees however there’s a tension obviously to reconcil this with the defense uh uh spending priorities where obviously the UK m is on the great strain and and it is true that the UK Arsenal is is pretty much so there’s a lot of rebuilding to do at home but you should not lose your eyes also of the commitment abroad and I think uh the new prime minister has a real opportunity to show that the United Kingdom is a European power and is committed to its uh com to basically its level of ambition when it comes to Eastern Europe so I will hope that it is going to be more than just business as usual but that there could be even an increase in the UK commitment which does not have to be qu ative only it can also be qualitative and here I mean especially on on the Ukraine membership to Nato which is one key ingredient to finish this war on acceptable terms Fab poer former director of policy planning at NATO uh thanks so much for joining us for

“I am afraid 2.5% of GDP won’t be enough – the UK’s military needs a massive splurge of cash to be able to fight a war.”

A “fundamental shift” in thinking needs to occur towards defence spending if the UK can feel confident in combating a “disgusting”, militaristic Russia, says general Sir Richard Shirreff.

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