Free Republic

The illegal invasion of Ukraine has shown we cannot take risks with our defence capabilities especially when Russia is involved. Putin invaded Ukraine because he thought the West is militarily and politically weak, and he was right. All talk in Westminster and Whitehall has been about cutting soldiers and tank numbers for the past few years – cyber and space technologies are the answer apparently. But mass armour and soldiers have a quality all of their own, as the Ukraine war is showing. You still need boots on the ground to take and hold ground – no amount of cyber...

Russia has warned that it will have to take “military-technical” steps in response to Finland’s application to join Nato. The foreign ministry accused the military alliance of seeking to create “another flank for the military threat to our country”. “Helsinki should be aware of its responsibility and the consequences of such a move,” the ministry added. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “The expansion of Nato and the approach of the alliance to our borders does not make the world and our continent more stable and secure”. When asked whether Finland’s accession to the military alliance would be considered a threat...