The entire United Kingdom — not only its armed forces — must be mobilized to deter the threat posed by Russia of a wider war in Europe, according to the head of the British military.
In a rare national call to action not heard since the height of the Cold War, the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, has prepared a speech to be delivered on Monday evening, urging the British public to make defence and resilience “a higher priority.”
In excerpts released in advance by the Ministry of Defence, the speech states that Russia’s war in Ukraine demonstrates Vladimir Putin’s willingness to target neighboring countries, which “threatens the entire NATO alliance, including the United Kingdom.”
“Russian leadership has made it clear that it seeks to challenge, constrain, divide, and ultimately destroy NATO,” the statement says.
However, the speech contains no indication that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s government plans to accelerate increases in defence spending beyond current commitments, despite growing concern among senior military officials that the planned budget growth is too slow.
Further underlining the threat, Blaise Metreweli, the new head of MI6, will deliver a separate speech on Monday warning that “the front line is everywhere” in a “new era of uncertainty.”
“The export of chaos is a feature, not a bug, of Russia’s approach to international engagement,” she will say in her first public remarks since becoming the first female head of the Secret Intelligence Service in October.
“We must be prepared for this to continue until Putin is forced to change his calculations.”
Defence and security chiefs across NATO are increasingly warning that Russia’s war in Ukraine could ignite a much broader conflict.
Last week, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Europe must prepare for confrontation with Russia on a scale “endured by our grandparents and great-grandparents,” referring to the First and Second World Wars.
At the same time, UK Armed Forces Minister Al Carns said Britain is “rapidly developing” plans to prepare the entire country for a potential outbreak of war.
Sky News previously revealed that the UK currently lacks a national civil defence or population mobilization plan. In contrast, throughout the Cold War, Britain maintained a detailed “War Book” outlining how the armed forces, emergency services, local authorities, industry, schools, and transport networks would transition from peace to war.
That plan was shelved after the collapse of the Soviet Union, as successive governments shifted defence spending toward healthcare and welfare under the so-called “peace dividend.”
Military insiders have warned that the government’s 10-year plan to raise defence spending from 2.3% to 3.5% of GDP is dangerously slow.
“The situation is more dangerous than at any point in my career,” Knighton will say. “This response requires more than just strengthening our armed forces. It requires strengthening the entire nation.”
He stresses that deterrence depends not only on military readiness but also on national resilience — involving universities, industry, rail networks, and the National Health Service (NHS).
“This is an unusually strong intervention, echoing the Cold War era, when the UK last mobilized society-wide defence against the threat of world war and nuclear Armageddon,” the statement concludes.
