The United Kingdom’s armed forces are prepared to respond immediately should Russian President Vladimir Putin initiate an invasion of another Eastern European country, according to a senior British military official.
This warning follows Putin’s declaration that Russia’s newly developed ballistic missiles, allegedly capable of evading any existing air defense systems, have been successfully deployed against Ukraine.
In a televised address to Russian military leaders on Friday, President Putin introduced the hypersonic ballistic missile dubbed “Oreshnik,” which was launched at Ukraine’s Dnipro region the previous day. Putin described the missile as unmatched globally, claiming that no defense system could intercept it.
“There are currently no means of countering such a missile, no means of intercepting it, in the world,” Putin asserted. “And I will emphasize once again: We will continue testing the latest system.”
Putin further announced that Russia is expanding its arsenal of similar weapons, with plans to begin serial production of the “Oreshnik” missile and other advanced systems currently undergoing testing.
“Based on the test results, these weapons will also go into production. That is, we are developing a whole line of medium- and shorter-range systems,” he added.
The missile, reportedly equipped with multiple warheads, has been described as a technological breakthrough by Russian authorities. Western intelligence sources later classified it as an experimental intermediate-range ballistic missile, marking what could be the first-ever wartime use of a ballistic missile carrying multiple warheads.
Amid these developments, Rob Magowan, the Deputy Chief of the British Defense Staff, delivered a resolute message to a parliamentary defense committee.
“If the British Army was asked to fight tonight, it would fight tonight,” Magowan affirmed. “And I don’t think anybody in this room should be under any illusion that if the Russians invaded Eastern Europe tonight, then we would meet them in that fight.”
