UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin is "testing NATO's resolve" and that Britain and its allies must be prepared for the possibility of war with Russia. He made the remarks in Warsaw, where he appeared alongside Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. The comments were reported by European Pravda, citing The Guardian.
Streeting said the country and the alliance need to be ready for a scenario "in which the United Kingdom and the NATO alliance finds itself at war with Russia". He stressed that this preparation does not reflect a wish for conflict.
"Not because we want war," he said. "We have no quarrel with the Russian people, and we have no desire for war with Russia; NATO is a defensive alliance." He described the alliance's purpose as defensive rather than aggressive.
The defence secretary also addressed recent assurances from Putin that he has no intention of provoking a war with NATO. Streeting said such statements bring back memories of what the Russian leader said about Ukraine only days before the invasion.
Streeting argued that strength is the surest route to avoiding the worst outcome. "The more ready we are to face against Russia, to defend every inch of NATO territory, the less likely we are to find ourselves in that scenario," he said. He added that NATO is prepared to defend all of its territory and will continue to back Ukraine.
The remarks come as the UK pushes a domestic preparedness effort. A campaign called Be Ready has been launched to help the country prepare for the effects of the climate crisis, technological dependency and threats from hostile states. Under new government guidance, every Briton is advised to keep up to nine litres of bottled water and three days' worth of food at home.
Streeting also said Britain must get ready for the threat of "state-sponsored terrorism", in which hostile states target civilian infrastructure.
