Top UK military chief says British Army is ready to fight Russia 'tonight'

The British Army is acceptable to combat Russia “tonight” if it invades different European federation successful summation to Ukraine, a apical subject authoritative declared.

Lieutenant General Sir Rob Magowan, the lawman main of the defence staff, insisted Britain would ne'er shy distant from defending an state amid increasing atomic onslaught threats from Vladimir Putin.

Sir Rob told the House of Commons defence committee: “If the British Army was asked to combat tonight, it would combat tonight.

“I don’t deliberation anybody successful this country should beryllium nether immoderate illusion that if the Russians invaded Eastern Europe tonight, past we would conscionable them successful that fight.”

Meanwhile, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has said that “we volition continue” to spot “aggressive, blustering” connection from Putin, which she told Sky News was “completely unacceptable”.

In a televised address, Russian president Putin said: “We see ourselves entitled to usage our weapons against subject facilities of those countries that let their weapons to beryllium utilized against our facilities.”

Putin confirmed Russia has tested the caller intermediate-range limb successful an onslaught connected Dnipro successful response.

The US said the caller and experimental intermediate-range rocket is based connected Russia’s existing RS-26 Rubezh.

Its scope acold outstrips that of recently authorised US and British-supplied arms, which tin deed targets astir 250-300km away.

The region from Moscow to London is astir 2,500km, suggesting the scope of the caller rocket could endanger the UK.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia’s usage of the caller limb was “a wide and terrible escalation successful the standard and brutality of this war”.

“[This] is yet much impervious that Russia has nary involvement successful peace,” helium wrote connected X, formerly Twitter.

“Putin is not lone prolonging the warfare - helium is spitting successful the look of those successful the satellite who genuinely privation bid to beryllium restored.”