Joanna Rossiter Joanna Rossiter

Putin won’t be fazed by Britain’s show of military support to Ukraine

(Getty images)

Can the British army afford to take on Russia? That’s the burning question that has been left after Defence Secretary Ben Wallace announced this week – to surprisingly little fanfare – that the UK is sending 30 elite troops and 2,000 anti tank weapons to the Ukraine. Wallace clearly intended to send a message to Moscow on where Britain’s allegiance lies, but such political posturing can only be beneficial if it’s backed up by sustained support in the long term – something the British army is in no place to do.

As Britain seeks to reduce the size of its army to just 72,500 regular soldiers, Russia has amassed over 106,000 troops on the Ukraine border. With the British army heading for its smallest size since 1714, how much use is the small British deployment in helping Ukraine to hold off Putin?

While Britain is one of the few Nato countries to meet its pledge to spend at least two per cent of GDP on defence, things are far from rosy

While Britain is one of the few Nato countries to meet its pledge to spend at least two per cent of GDP on defence, things are far from rosy. UK military spending has only just returned to 2012/13 levels in real terms, having had a sizeable five year funding dip between 2012 and 2017. Under the current plans overseen by Wallace to reduce the size of the army, the number of tanks will be cut from 227 to 148 upgraded ones; the RAF will lose 24 of its older Typhoon jets and its fleet of Hercules transport aircraft; and the Royal Navy is retiring two of its older frigates early before new ones come into service. That’s before you count the cost of having just flown a brand new £100 million F-35 fighter jet into the sea.

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