UK to Increase Armed Forces Amid Growing Threat from Russia

British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said that the UK government will inject £52bn into the nation’s military budget by 2030 in response to Russian aggression.

Citing the illegal invasion of Ukraine and Russia’s ever-increasing threats to the Western world as being “risks I do not want to tolerate anymore”, Wallace told the Sunday Telegraph on Sep. 25 that new Prime Minister Liz Truss would stick to her campaign pledge to increase defence spending by 3%.

“My department has been so used to 30 or 40 years of defending against cuts or reconciling cuts with modern fighting, they’re going to have to get used to a completely different culture, which is we are actually going to grow, we’re going to actually change,” he said. “The reason I supported Liz Truss was that the risks we were prepared to tolerate in the middle of the decade are not risks I want to tolerate any more in light of Russian aggression.”

Mr Wallace was reappointed to the position of Secretary of State for Defence upon Truss recently taking office, having served under Boris Johnson since July 2019.

During his tenure, Wallace has been at the forefront of organising military aid for Ukraine, including weapons, funding, and specialist training.

In recent months, thousands of Ukrainian troops have been given military training in numerous British Army bases in the north and south of England, learning skills such as advanced marksmanship, first aid and urban warfare.

In a statement issued by Mr Wallace on Sep. 21, the Defence Secretary deplored President Putin’s conscription announcement.

“Putin and his Defence Minister have sent tens of thousands of their own citizens to their deaths, ill equipped and badly led,” he said.

“No amount of threats and propaganda can hide the fact that Ukraine is winning this war. The international community are united, and Russia is becoming a global pariah.”