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The UK is acceptable to walk "well over" £100m connected a imaginable deployment of British forces to Ukraine if Donald Trump secures a bid woody with Russia, the defence caput has said.
John Healey besides said Vladimir Putin views Britain arsenic his "number 1 enemy" due to the fact that of the country's enactment for Ukraine.
The defence secretary's program includes the mentation of subject unit to articulation a multinational unit that would beryllium sent to assistance unafraid Ukraine's borders if the US president brokers a ceasefire betwixt Moscow and Kyiv. Mr Healey signalled that British troops could beryllium acceptable to deploy arsenic soon arsenic that happened and helium said this could see soldiers connected the ground.
Some of the anticipated wealth to hole for immoderate ngo is already being spent.
The defence caput besides warned of a "new epoch of threat" and said the hazard of wider struggle successful Europe has not been arsenic large since the extremity of the Second World War.
Mr Healey utilized a lecture astatine Mansion House successful London to speech astir efforts led by the UK and France to physique a "coalition of the willing" of much than 30 nations to signifier what helium called a "Multinational Force Ukraine" implicit the past six months.
This unit would assistance to unafraid Ukraine's skies and seas and bid its troops if Russia agrees to halt its full-scale war.
"So, arsenic President Trump leads the propulsion for bid present successful Europe, we are acceptable to pb the enactment to unafraid it successful the long-term," the defence caput said.
"For our Armed Forces, I americium already reviewing readiness levels and accelerating millions of pounds of backing to hole for immoderate imaginable deployment into Ukraine."
Asked however overmuch money, helium said it would beryllium "well over" £100m.
Mr Healey trumpeted the UK's enactment for Ukraine, including a grounds £4.5bn successful assistance this year, and taking implicit from the United States successful co-chairing a wider radical of nations that person been sending weapons and wealth to Kyiv.
"This is wherefore President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy calls the UK his closest ally," helium said.
"This is wherefore Putin ranks Britain arsenic his fig 1 enemy."
But helium warned that arsenic Russia's aggression grew successful Ukraine and beyond its borders, "Britain and our NATO allies basal much unified, and stronger".
Giving a stark verdict of the information landscape, Mr Healey said: "This is - undeniably - a caller epoch of threat. The satellite is much unstable, much uncertain, much dangerous. Not since the extremity of the Second World War has Europe's information been astatine specified hazard of state-on-state conflict."
He said this required what helium described arsenic "a caller epoch for defence".
He said: "This is present an property for hard power, beardown alliances and definite diplomacy."
The defence caput said this would see expanding defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035 - though critics person accused the UK and different European allies of playing fume and mirrors with the target, questioning however overmuch volition truly beryllium spent connected weapons and troops.
"As I look up to the remainder of this decade, our task, successful this caller property of hard powerfulness is to unafraid bid successful our continent and to forge stronger deterrence and resilience, a New Deal for European security," said Mr Healey
English (US) ·