Cliff Notes
- Sir Keir Starmer announced the UK’s intention to boost defence, security, and resilience spending to 5% of GDP by 2035, despite critics labelling the move as “smoke and mirrors” with no immediate cash promises.
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy has expressed concerns about the slow timeline for the funding increase, suggesting a heightened risk of conflict with Russia within the next five years.
- NATO leaders, including Donald Trump, are expected to approve this new spending target at the summit in The Hague, amidst tensions involving Iran, Israel, and Russia.
PM warns of ‘era of radical uncertainty’ – and says UK will increase defence spending | UK News
Sir Keir Starmer said the UK is set to increase spending on defence, security and resilience to 5% of GDP by 2035 to meet an “era of radical uncertainty” – but without promising any additional cash.
The move – part of a new spending pledge by the NATO alliance – was panned as deceptive “smoke and mirrors” by critics, who pointed to the very real risk of escalating conflict between Iran, the US and Israel, as well as Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Sky News the timeline for the increase was “very slow” and warned Russia could attack a NATO country within five years.
“In my view, this is slow because we believe that starting from 2030, Putin can have significantly greater capabilities,” he told chief presenter Mark Austin.
Sources
UK will commit to spending 5% of GDP on defence by 2035 – The Guardian
PM warns of ‘era of radical uncertainty’ – and says UK will increase defence spending – Sky News
UK set to commit to boost defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035 – ITVX