UK Defense Chief: England Must Be Ready for War With Russia

Britain’s top military officer has issued a stark warning that the country must be prepared for the possibility of war with Russia, including the likelihood that British families could be asked to sacrifice sons and daughters in combat.

Speaking at an event hosted by the Royal United Services Institute in London, Chief of the Defence Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton said the UK faces an increasingly dangerous security environment and must adopt what he described as a “whole-of-society” approach to national defense.

While stressing that the probability of a direct Russian attack on UK soil remains low, Knighton cautioned that it is “not zero,” pointing to persistent cyberattacks, sabotage attempts, and hostile intelligence activity attributed to Moscow. Russia’s military, he warned, has grown larger, more technologically sophisticated, and more combat-experienced following its war in Ukraine.

Knighton called for an expansion of regular forces, reserves, cadets, and greater civilian involvement in national resilience efforts. He also urged schools and parents to encourage young people to pursue careers in the defense and arms industries, criticizing the “painfully slow” pace of private investment in Britain’s military-industrial base.

“More families will know what sacrifice for our nation means,” Knighton said, adding that civilians, veterans, and future recruits may all be required “to build, to serve, and if necessary, to fight.”

His remarks echoed warnings from NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who recently said Europe could be Vladimir Putin’s next target, and from UK officials who have described the country as being on a de facto war footing.

The UK government has pledged to raise defense and security spending to 5% of GDP by 2035, marking the largest sustained increase since the Cold War.