Troops

Troop cuts are “madness” and will put the Army at breaking point, its former head has warned.

General Lord Dannatt spoke out against the Government’s decision to cut the Army by 10,000 soldiers over the next few years, despite the war in Ukraine.

It comes after Boris Johnson agreed to increase the defence budget to 2.5 per cent of GDP by the end of the decade.

However, Lord Dannatt said it “makes no sense whatsoever” to go ahead with the cuts to troops, set out in last year’s Integrated Review, when Nato plans to put 300,000 troops at high readiness.

“It’s a mere fact of life we’ll break the remainder of our Army if our Army is not large enough … to do what the government of the day wants us to do,” he told Sky News.

“You can’t make people work endlessly with too small numbers. So numbers in the terms of our land forces really, really matter.”

Lord Dannatt called on the Government to reverse the cuts and instead increase its investment in “our land warfighting capability”.

“I’m afraid the future is not going to be returned to things pre 24th of February, the future is going to be a grumpy, resurgent Russia on the borders of countries in Eastern Europe,” he said. “We’ve got to play our part in deterring Russian aggression.”

Lord Dannatt added: “When it comes to old fashioned fighting, numbers do matter and to have an Army of only just over 70,000 30 per cent down from where we were 10 years ago is going to leave us woefully short if we find that we’ve got to maintain large number of troops at high readiness forward-deployed in Eastern Europe.”

Last week, Mr Johnson said the UK would boost its defence spending in the wake of the war in Ukraine, as he warned of a “very different era” of insecurity in Europe. However, his official spokesman also insisted that UK troop numbers were “the right size”.

The spokesman added that it was “wrong to focus solely on the numbers” and stressed that the Government was investing in cyber warfare and other new technology.

However, General Sir Patrick Sanders, the new head of the Army, warned last week that “it would be perverse” for himself to advocate for reducing the size of the Army “as a land war rages in Europe and [Vladimir] Putin’s territorial ambitions extend into the rest of the decade and beyond Ukraine”.

Lord Dannatt also said he anticpated that Russia would take Donetsk and Luhansk in the “next few days and weeks”.

However, he cautioned that in doing so Russia would not have won the war, nor would Ukrainians have lost. He said that instead, the war would go “into the deep trees”.

Britain will commit an extra 2,000 soldiers to defending Estonia under new Nato plans , the Defence Secretary has announced.

Speaking at the Nato summit in Madrid, Ben Wallace said that the existing battlegroup deployment of about 900 soldiers would be permanently increased to brigade strength, taking the total committed force to about 3,000 troops in all.

Not all units are expected to be based in the Baltic country at the same time, with some troops held on standby in the UK.

Numbers in Estonia will be increased only in the event of heightened tensions with Russia, although the headquarters element is expected to be permanently stationed forward.

Mr Wallace said: “If your brigade headquarters is forward and you have a battlegroup in the position, it is very quick to surge … and allows us to very quickly expand to three battlegroups”.

“How forward and permanent we’ll be there… will all be worked out in [Nato’s] regional plans between now and Christmas. We stand ready to do that [in 2023].”

The move matches a commitment from Germany , which has allocated a high readiness brigade for the defence of Lithuania, albeit without sending the units into the country on a permanent basis.

The British brigade to be given the Estonia mission, yet to be named by military chiefs, will be able to train and be equipped for a very specific role, with units rotating through the country probably on a six-month basis.

Under Nato’s Enhanced Forward Presence mission, launched in 2016 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine two years earlier, battlegroups from across the alliance have been stationed in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

The mission was expanded to cover Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Romania after the war began on Feb 24.

Britain is responsible for the battlegroup of about 900 troops in Estonia. This number is currently doubled as the Royal Welsh unit has remained in post, extending its six-month tour in light of the latest Russian attack.

The commitments are part of Nato’s response to the invasion of Ukraine and seek to reassure allies on the eastern flank of the alliance that their security concerns are understood.

After witnessing war crimes and scenes of destruction in areas of Ukraine that had been temporarily held by Moscow’s forces, Nato’s plans to liberate any territory invaded by Russia after 180 days have been widely criticised by Baltic leaders, most recently Kaja Kallas, the prime minister of Estonia .

Mr Wallace said that the Nato spending target, requiring each member state to spend two per cent of GDP on defence, had been set “for a different era”.

He declined to put a figure on what Britain’s defence budget should be, adding only that it should be set by “the threat and the Government’s ambition”.

However, responding to the Government’s suggestion that defence spending is projected to reach 2.3 per cent of GDP this year, the Defence Secretary said Number 10 had been clear that figure included £1.3 billion of extraordinary support for Ukraine.

“Number 10 does say ‘if you include the extra Ukrainian spend’, they have put a caveat to that,” Mr Wallace said.

“Of course, it isn’t core defence spending. It is not my core budget, it doesn’t buy me any more planes, tanks or ships. It is obliquely helping Britain’s defence budget because we’re helping Ukraine, but they do caveat it.

“I’m pretty relieved that it was extra money, rather than [me] having to find from within my budget another billion pounds.”

He added: “I don’t care how the money is labelled or where the other money comes from. Fundamentally, it is now helping Ukraine defeat Russia and a worn-out Russian army is a definite, medium- and long-term benefit for the United Kingdom.”

Nato is set to massively increase its available forces on high alert to more than 300,000 troops in the most significant overhaul of the alliance’s defence strategy since the Cold War.

In a historic policy shift, Jens Stoltenberg, its secretary-general, said the alliance would also genuinely fortify the border with Russia to fully defend allied territory in a response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine .

“We will transform the Nato response force and increase the number of our high readiness forces to well over 300,000,” he told reporters ahead of a crunch summit in Madrid.

“Russia has walked away from the partnership and the dialogue that Nato has tried to establish with Russia for many years,” Mr Stoltenberg added.

“They have chosen confrontation instead of dialogue. We regret that – but of course, then we need to respond to that reality.”

As part of the pledge, Boris Johnson will announce “significant reinforcement” for Estonia, potentially more than doubling the number of British troops available to the Baltic State.

The move is more than a sevenfold increase to Nato’s current rapid response force of 40,000 troops, which alliance members have largely lost trust in.

It will include several new structures under which Nato allies would commit ships, warplanes and troops to be ready to deploy across the alliance’s eastern flank with as little as 24 hours’ notice.

The Telegraph understands an initial 44,000 troops will be placed under the high-readiness category – as part of Nato’s so-called New Force Model, to bolster defences on the eastern flank – and will be available with less than 15 days’ notice.

While not all 300,000 troops will be deployed, Nato’s top military commander would know exactly which forces are at their disposal and how quickly they could enter the battlefield.

The availability list does not include US troops after Washington refused to make an initial commitment in order to pressure European allies into offering up more resources.

At their summit starting in Madrid on Tuesday, Nato leaders are expected to set out in more detail the amount and types of forces they are willing to commit to the new high-readiness model.

Britain is expected to announce that as many as 5,000 troops could be made available to reinforce Estonia, where 1,650 British soldiers are already deployed.

Mr Stoltenberg confirmed Nato units deployed across eight eastern and south-eastern alliance members would be strengthened to brigades, normally comprising around 3,000 to 5,000 troops.

Nato officials on Monday said the transition to the new model would not be completed until next year as details were still being hammered out.

The new military plan was announced following a warning from the Baltic States that they would be “wiped off the map” in the event of a Russian invasion under Nato’s existing strategy.

The doctrine foresees Lithuania, Estonia or Latvia falling to Russia before being liberated in a Nato counter-offensive after 180 days.

Nato will scrap its traditional “tripwire” defence strategy in Madrid this week following concerns it is no longer viable.

Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, recently told Nato allies that the “tripwire doctrine was not really up to what we have seen happen in Ukraine”.

“The first fight is the most important,” he said at a meeting of Nato defence ministers.

The defining Nato summit comes as diplomatic tensions simmer over freight shipments to Kaliningrad.

Lithuania was on the receiving end of significant threats from Moscow after it blocked Russia from using railways to transport coal, metals and other sanctioned goods to the military exclave.

In a direct warning to the Kremlin, Mr Stoltenberg said: “I’m confident that Moscow, President Putin understands our collective security guarantees, understands the consequence of attacking a Nato allied country.

“It will trigger a response from the whole Alliance.”

At the summit, Nato will also drastically change its outlook on Russia from the current description of Moscow as a strategic partner.

Russia would be designated as the “most direct and immediate threat to our security,” Mr Stoltenberg said of the language due to be adopted as part of the “Strategic Concept” – Nato’s plan for the next decade.

The secretary-general poured cold water on hopes of Sweden and Finland being admitted to the alliance at the summit.

He said he would host talks between Turkey and the Nordic nations in Madrid, but warned against an immediate breakthrough on Ankara’s opposition to them joining.

“I will not make any promises or speculate about any specific timelines. The summit has never been a deadline,” Mr Stoltenberg said.

To further tighten European security, the Western military alliance will announce plans to run training missions to bring Ukraine’s armed forces to Nato-standard.

British and US officials have raised concerns that, while vital, weapons shipments will not be enough to guarantee Kyiv’s safety in the future.

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Putin trying to force Belarus into war against Ukraine says expert

Alex Kokcharox, a country risk analyst specialising in Russia , Ukraine and Belarus , said senior military officers in a Belarussian special forces unit have written an open letter to President Lukashenko, “openly speaking against potential Belarusian participation in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.” However, he also suggested the letter could be a hoax, “staged” by the Belarussian leader to show Putin “why he is unable to join Russia’s war in Ukraine”.

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Belarus, which is a close ally of Russia, has previously threatened to join the war in Ukraine.

On June 10, Mr Lukashenko warned Belarus may be forced to enter the war to fight for the west of Ukraine so that it is “not chopped off” by NATO.

Belarus has previously said it would step in to support Russia “if necessary”.

The country also formally renounced its non-nuclear and neutral status following a referendum shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, allowing Russia to place nuclear weapons on its territory.

Belarussian senior officers appear to have turned on Vladimir Putin (Image: Getty)

But Belarus has also sent mixed messages when it comes to the country’s involvement in the war.

In March, Mr Lukashenko claimed he had no plans to join Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, according to Belarussian state news agency Belta.

Mr Lukashenko also denied allegations that Russian troops attacked Ukraine from Belarussian territory.

Mr Kokcharoc shared an image of the unverified letter to Twitter, writing: “In #Belarus, a group of senior military officers in a Special Forces unit, in the ranks from captain to colonel, reportedly signed an open letter to the de facto ruler Lukashenka, openly speaking against potential Belarusian participation in #Russia’s invasion of #Ukraine.

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Belarus, which is a close ally of Russia, has previously threatened to join the war in Ukraine (Image: Getty)

Belarus has previously said it would step in to support Russia ‘if necessary’ (Image: Getty)

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“While it is possible that this letter is genuine, there is also another possibility.

“This could be easily staged by Lukashenka to demonstrate to Putin on why he is unable to join Russia’s war in Ukraine.”

This comes as Putin’s invasion of Ukraine appears to be stalling.

As many as 10 Russian generals and 30 senior officers are believed to have been killed so far in combat.

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Countries under threat from Russia (Image: Express)

Meanwhile, as many as 30,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in the conflict and up to 100,000 have been injured.

Russia has reportedly lost over 4,000 tanks and armoured vehicles, 216 combat aircraft, 183 attack helicopters and 620 drones.

According to the UK’s Ministry of Defence, Russia will increasingly be forced to rely on “reserve forces” as a result of the heavy losses.

In an update, it said: “Over the coming weeks, Russia’s campaign will highly likely increasingly rely on echelons of reserve forces.

“These consist of several distinct components which Russia has almost certainly already started to field.

Putin’s invasion of Ukraine appears to be stalling (Image: Getty)

“Russia’s Combat Army Reserve is a recent innovation of part-time but volunteer reservists, which deploy as whole units typically ear-marked for rear area security tasks.

“The Human Mobilisation Resource is the sizable pool of all veterans who have served in the regular military in the last five years.

“Russian authorities are likely using volunteers from this category to fill out the third battalions within regular brigades.”

“Despite a continued shortfall in the number of deployable reservists for Ukraine, the Russian leadership likely remains reluctant to order a general mobilisation.”

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