Two-thirds of Britons do not think the UK is ready for a wider war between Russia and the west, according to a damning new poll.
YouGov has found 66% think Britain is either not very – or not at all – prepared for war against Moscow, with only 15% of the public saying the opposite.
In a sample size of 5,960 adults, the pollsters found the vast majority of voters felt the same, regardless of their political leanings.
Almost two-thirds (65%) of Labour and Lib Dem voters, 75% of Tory voters and 78% of Reform voters, were all in agreement: Britain is not ready for war.
The survey comes after Vladimir Putin issued a bleak warning to Europe on Tuesday – while hosting a US delegation ahead of further peace talks.
He said: “We are not planning to go to war with Europe, but if Europe wants to and starts, we are ready now. They are on the side of war.”
The Kremlin went on to reject Donald Trump’s revised peace plan, after European allies altered the first iteration over fears it was too pro-Russia.
Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov insisted that the Russian president had not actually rejected any of the proposals, but just that “some things were accepted, some things were marked as unacceptable”.
After the talks collapse, Keir Starmer’s spokesperson hit back at the Kremlin’s aggressive war talk.
“This is yet more Kremlin claptrap from a president who is insincere about peace,” he told reporters.
“He espouses rhetoric about Europe wanting to go to war that is as dangerous as it is wrong.”
The spokesperson also responded to concerns about wartime readiness, saying: “European nations are united in support of Ukraine’s right to self-defence under international law and Nato is ready to respond to any threats with unity and strength.”
He continued: “Our armed forces always stand ready to defend this country.
“National security is clearly number one priority of any government.”
Nato chief Mark Rutte pushed back against Putin’s comments too, saying: “Nato is a defensive alliance.
“We will remain a defensive alliance, but make no mistake, we are ready and willing to do what it take to protect our one billion people and secure our territory.”