UK is ready to fight a war but will need to be stronger in future, head of armed forces warns

The UK is ready to fight a war, the head of the armed forces has insisted, after the defence secretary recently suggested the military is not prepared for a conflict.

Admiral Sir Tony Radakin also stressed the importance of continuing to back Ukraine when asked about the potential impact of the re-election of Donald Trump on Russia’s war.

He said more than 1,500 Russian troops had been killed or injured in the warzone every day during October. That equates to more than 46,000 people – equivalent to more than half of the British Army.

The Chief of the Defence Staff used the Russian casualty figure to underline the cost to Vladimir Putin of his invasion, but analysts say the Kremlin has proven itself more than capable of absorbing high attrition rates without changing its war aims.

Admiral Radakin was speaking in an interview on Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips to mark Remembrance Sunday.

Asked if the UK could fight a war at scale, he said: “Absolutely. So our servicemen and women will always be ready to serve their nation and to do as the government of the day directs us to do.”

Last month, however, John Healey, the new Labour defence secretary, told a Politico podcast that the armed forces were not ready to fight after being hollowed out and under-funded during 14 years of Conservative rule.

In reality, the hollowing out and under-funding also took place under the previous Labour government.

Pressed by Trevor Phillips on whether the army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force had the capabilities to fight a war, Admiral Radakin said: “We do have the capabilities. And then the reassurance is that we do that alongside our allies.

“And for those biggest fights, then we will always do them with our allies.”

He conceded, though, that the UK needs to be “even stronger in the future”.

Admiral Radakin added: “Some of that is about having deeper stockpiles. Some of that is being better at bringing technology and learning the lessons from Ukraine… And some of that is also recognising that you need to have a defence industry that can better support those demands.

“We’re in a more dangerous world.”

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The top commander repeatedly stressed the importance of being part of NATO to be able to counter the biggest threats faced by the UK.

But the re-election of Donald Trump to the White House has raised new concerns about US support for the transatlantic alliance. The United States is by far its most powerful member.

The president-elect threatened to quit NATO when he was US commander-in-chief the first time around, and he has repeatedly berated member states that do not meet a minimum spending commitment of 2% of national income.

Mr Trump is also expected to take a different approach to the war in Ukraine to Joe Biden, saying he will end the fighting – but without yet explaining how.

Trevor Phillips asked Admiral Radakin how confident he was that the United States would continue to stand “shoulder to shoulder” with Ukraine.

The defence chief declined to speculate on potential US policy so soon after the election.

Instead, he said: “What you’re seeing is a Russia that is making tactical gains and is seizing more territory, but is doing that at enormous cost, enormous cost in terms of its soldiers – over 1,500 people a day are either killed or wounded in October.”

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Admiral Radakin also pointed out how the war prompted NATO to grow, with Finland and Sweden joining.

“At the strategic level, Russia is losing,” he said.

“Russia wanted to subjugate Ukraine. It’s never going to subjugate Ukraine.

“And that’s what we should be really clear about – that we continue our support for President Zelenskyy and his people in their existential fight.”