The former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has warned that British soldiers in Ukraine “cannot be ruled out.”
Wallace said that “people need to wake up” and realise just how “dangerous Vladimir Putin” really is and that across Europe there is “insecurity.”
During an interview with Times Radio the former Defence Secretary warned that “people need to wake up to how dangerous Vladimir Putin is.”
He added that winning the shame election means there will be six more years of Putin and his threats, meaning there will be “more insecurity,” and that the West has to be “match fit.”
He was asked if NATO troops will be ruled out going to fight in Ukraine following Emmanuel Macron’s comment, Wallace said “nothing should be excluded.”
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Wallace told Times Radio, “We should use that phrase, ‘we cannot rule them out’.
“Ultimately, part of deterrence is ambiguity… keeping the adversary guessing about how far we would go and what we would do.
“That’s what Putin does masterfully – he keeps everyone guessing. It is important we never shut off avenues. It doesn’t mean to say we necessarily will but it is important we keep people guessing.
“Ruling out things is how our adversaries push us into corners.
“I think the best thing is to make sure he [Putin] realises we think what he is doing in Ukraine is very, very serious.
“I think President Putin – and we just saw that from the sham election – is the closest to Adolf Hitler we’ve had in this generation.”
In February the French President said that “Russia cannot win this war” and has refused to rule out sending troops to Ukraine.
Macron said last week that “all option are possible” in Ukraine, but “we’re not in that situation today.”
The French ground army chief of staff General Pierre Schill has published a statement on Tuesday that his forces “is ready” for “the toughest engagements.”
In an op-ed in the French newspaper Le Monde, Schill said, “However the international situation may evolve, French people can be certain that their soldiers stand ready to respond.”
“To protect itself from any attack and to defend its interests, the French army is preparing for even the toughest engagements,” he added.
He also quoted the Latin adage “si vis pacem, para bellum,” meaning, “if you want peace, prepare for war.”
Schill said within 30 days there will be a division of 20,000 troops and can easily call up some 60,000 soldiers by joining allied nations.
The army chief of staff did not make reference to the Ukraine war or Russia, but he did say, “the sources of crisis are multiplying and carry with them risks of spiralling or extending.”
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