“This war is not just about the black soil of the Donbass region, nor about re-establishing the Russian Empire. It is about defeating our system and our way of life politically, psychologically and symbolically. How we respond as the pre-war generation will reverberate throughout history. Ukrainian courage is buying time right now.”
Ukrainian tank on a combat mission in Bakhmut.credit: GT
Downing Street insisted on Wednesday that a full military recall was not on the table, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's spokesman saying the government had “no intention” of introducing conscription. He added that “engaging in virtual wars” is not useful.
Sanders, an outspoken and popular general within the military, is scheduled to leave his post in six months. He recently criticized the UK army shrinking to its smallest size since the Napoleonic era, by the middle of the decade.
Documents recently leaked to the German newspaper Bild It was revealed that Berlin is making contingency plans for a large-scale Russian attack on Western Europe, specifically the Baltic countries.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has made radical calls to prepare for war that would dramatically reorient the German military after nearly eight decades spent in a multilateral defense posture.
He stressed the urgent need for European Union countries to strengthen their defense industries in preparation for facing potential challenges, especially in light of the possibility of reducing US participation in the continent.
General Sir Patrick Sanders.credit: modern
Two senior Swedish officials have warned that the country must prepare for war as it prepares for the first stages of joining NATO, with the country's civil defense minister, Karl Oskar Bohlen, warning that rapid action is needed to mitigate the looming threat from Russia. To the development of the situation in Ukraine as evidence that the war may spread to other parts of Europe.
The head of the Military Committee of NATO Leaders, Admiral Rob Bauer, said last week in Brussels that the West must prepare for war with Russia in the next 20 years and must “expect the unexpected.”
“We have to realize that it is not a given that we will live in peace. That is why we are [NATO forces] “They are preparing for conflict with Russia,” he said.
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