UK, Germany Boost Defenses Against Growing Russian Threats

The UK government, led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Defence Secretary John Healey, is undertaking a Strategic Defence Review aimed at restoring Britain's war-fighting readiness amid growing Russian aggression. The review allocates £1.5 billion to establish at least six munitions factories and commits around £6 billion over the current parliament to expand long-range weapons production, including the procurement of up to 7,000 domestically built missiles. Healey emphasized that this buildup serves as a message to Moscow and is part of Britain's readiness to deter and, if necessary, fight future conflicts, underscoring daily cyberattacks attributed to Russia against UK defense systems. In parallel, Germany's Defence Chief General Carsten Breuer warned that Russia poses a serious threat to NATO, particularly to Baltic states, and urged preparations for a potential Russian attack possibly as soon as 2029 or earlier. Both the UK and NATO stress the importance of strengthening military capabilities and industrial bases to counter the heightened tensions and risks posed by Russia's military expansion and aggressive actions in Ukraine and beyond.