Alistair Carns, the veterans minister, said the extremely high casualty rate currently being suffered by Russian forces in Ukraine – around 1,500 soldiers a day – highlighted the importance of rebuilding the UK’s reserves.
His warning comes just weeks after John Healey, the defenc secretary, said that Britain’s armed forces are so depleted th the country is not ready to fend off a major invasion. In a damning assessment of the state of the UK’s defences, Mr Healey said that while the military could conduct operations “what we’ve not been ready to do is to fight”.
This story is from the December 05, 2024 edition of The Independent.
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This story is from the December 05, 2024 edition of The Independent.
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