Hippie called for sending British troops to Ukraine: away from the front line

Britain should consider sending troops to Ukraine to train and otherwise support the Ukrainian armed forces in their conflict against Russia, albeit away from the front lines, former British Armed Forces Secretary James Heappie has said.

He also told Sky News that Britain needed to be better prepared for war in times of growing threats, including by bolstering a large “strategic reserve” of thousands of veterans who could be called into service in a national crisis.

In a wide-ranging interview, the outgoing MP repeated calls for an immediate increase in defense spending to plug capability gaps – such as protecting UK airspace from missiles – and ultimately increase the size of the armed forces.

“There are really two things that I have set myself for the rest of my time as an MP, given the knowledge that I have as a minister who has worked in the Ministry of Defense for a long time,” James Heappie, 43, said in an interview.

“Firstly, to justify the need to increase defense spending: 2.5% [от национального дохода, по сравнению с немногим более 2%] Now. Three percent by 2030. And second, we must reinvest and refocus our strategic resilience as a nation and our ability to fight war and withstand any other types of crises that may come our way,” Hippie said.

Hippie’s comments come after Sky News reported last week that the government has no national plan for defending Britain or mobilizing its people and industry in the event of war.

Officials have begun developing a cross-departmental “national defense plan” but any return to Cold War-style war preparedness will require political leaders to re-emphasize defense as a truly national concern, Sky News said.

James Heappie, who last month stepped down as Armed Forces Secretary after four-and-a-half years in the post, stressed the critical importance of supporting Ukraine in its military standoff with Russia for British and European security overall.

The politician called on Britain and its allies to go even further with the types of weapons they are willing to provide to Kyiv as the Ukrainian military struggles to counter renewed Russian attacks.

“I think right now we need to think again about what else we can offer from our current reserves. What is the next threshold of capabilities that we could achieve after [крылатых ракет] Storm Shadow?”

The British MP, who will retire from politics at the next election, would not go into detail about what kind of ammunition he was proposing, but he backed French President Emmanuel Macron’s comments about the potential need for Western troops to be stationed in Ukraine.

“Some of the things that Macron has recently proposed I think are really worth considering,” the former minister said.

Asked if he was referring to the “boots on the ground” idea, he replied: “I think you have to be careful how you do it. I think it’s definitely not close to a war zone. I think “We need to be very, very careful that this doesn’t escalate into a war between Russia and NATO. But I think it’s worth exploring what the donor community can do more deeply – in Ukraine itself.”

As for whether that meant something like deploying British troops on a training mission into Ukraine, Hippy said: “Well, I think it’s worth considering.”

Hippie also said that he would like to see in the UK a modern version of the Cold War system of preparing the entire nation – the armed forces, industry and the public – for a possible armed conflict. This included the revival of the Strategic Reserve, which includes anyone leaving the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force for a specified period of time.

“Rewind 30 years, when you left the army, you still had a set of military uniforms, there was a requirement once a year, just for a weekend, to go to training, just to make sure that you could still shoot straight and run,” he said. Hippie.

The duty to serve as the second echelon of the armed forces to support the regular armed forces in the war for the survival of the country still exists – including for Hippie, as a former army officer.

“So I better get up to doing push-ups and jogging,” he said with a smile.

Renewing contact with this group of veterans is something defense leaders are exploring.

“I think they’re thinking about how they’re going to do it,” the MP said. “Contacting them is one thing… but that’s what you do to them… Are we going to start telling them what exists any responsibility while they are in strategic reserve? These discussions are ongoing, they are far from announcing a policy, but they are underway.”

The politician said he thought it would be a good idea to re-establish such a link and conduct some kind of annual exercise, although he realized that this would require a lot of equipment such as rifles and uniforms, as well as military personnel, sailors and airmen to carry out exercises.

As for the message it would send to Britain’s enemies, he said: “I think it would be quite powerful… suddenly our adversaries see in front of them a force that is regular troops… and then another 200,000 to 250,000 men who know how to handle with weapons, familiar with military tactics and can be mobilized in a pinch, and this again changes their thinking.”

Asked about the Strategic Reserve, a UK Ministry of Defense spokesman said: “Our armed forces reserves are an important and extremely valuable part of defense and the contribution they make to resilience, as well as our ability to bring in additional personnel when needed, is vital significance. We regularly update our records to ensure we can attract former employees if they are needed for service, and we are modernizing our processes.”