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Britain warned to brace for WW3 by prime UK defence chief as tensions rise

As tensions continue to rise between NATO and Russia, one British defence chief has said that the country needs to be prepared for the potential of an all-out war

Fears of an all-out World War Three fears are skyrocketing after a top defence chief warned Britain the “shadow” of conflict with Russia is looming. The UK’s armed forces minister Al Carns says we are on a “war footing” and must increase our “lethality” to face down the increasing threat from Mad Vlad Putin.

His chilling alert comes after NATO’s Secretary General Mark Rutte said Europe was the despot’s “next target”. He also warned nations to prepare for a “scale of war our grandparents or great-grandparents endured”.

Mr Carns said: “For the last 50 to 60 years, we have been reliant on US security guarantees and now, with multipolar threats facing the US, they may not be as forthright as they have in the past.” He added while US president Trump, 79, has declared he is “fully in” NATO and its Article 5 collective defence clause there is a “resource issue where they need to look both east and west”.

The minister added about how Britain needs to stop relying on allies for war support: “In the past, in wars of choice, we’ve outsourced our lethality to others. We’ve got to make sure that we increase our lethality…across all of our single services.”

He also said after outsourcing war backing to the US in the past, Europe and the UK have now pledged to up their game on defence spending. Aberdeen-born former Royal Marines officer Mr Carns added: “The shadow of war is knocking on Europe’s door once more.

“That’s the reality. We’ve got to be prepared to deter it.

“Collectively in NATO, we’ve got to remember that numerically – we outmatch Russia significantly.” Precarious peace efforts surrounding a US-led plan to end Putin’s bombardment of Ukraine are currently ongoing.

But relations between Europe and the US have become strained after Trump’s regime accused European officials of holding “unrealistic” expectations over the war in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the US has proposed a possible “free economic zone” in the Donbas region, which would see Ukrainian forces withdraw and Russia agree to remain where they are and not enter the territory.

Experts say the UK has been hit by a 50% spike in Russian threats and attacks in the last year, but the total number of incidents is strictly classified. Mr Carns also admitted the tally was actually “in the hundreds”.

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He made the shocking admission as he spoke at the launch of the UK’s Military Intelligence Services, which aims to shield Britain from Russian spies and cyber threats. Defence chiefs have been alarmed that under Labour, the UK has put off reaching the new NATO goal of spending 2.5% of GDP on defence until later this decade.

Meanwhile, Kyiv continues to bear the brunt of Putin’s horrific barrage of attacks, as missiles continue to rain down on Ukrainian cities. But Zelensky’s forces are trying to counteract the attacks by launching their own targeting a huge oil tanker in the Caspian Sea on Thursday (December 11).

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