Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Don't fight in Ukraine - military boss tells Britons

Don't fight in Ukraine - military boss tells Britons

Britons should not head to Ukraine to fight and should instead help however they can from the UK, the head of the armed forces has said.

Speaking to the BBC, Adm Sir Tony Radakin rejected Ukraine's call for a no-fly zone saying it would not help tactically and might escalate fighting.

He urged the West to have confidence that they were doing the "right thing".

The invasion was not going well, Russia was becoming less powerful and it cannot continue, he said.

On Britons wanting to join the fight, Adm Radakin said that the "sound of gunfire" was not "something you want to rush to", and urged people to support Ukraine in sensible ways from the UK.

Asked whether Foreign Secretary Liz Truss had been right to say she would support any Briton who wanted to fight, he said: "We can all understand that sentiment, and that sentiment needs to be channelled into support for Ukraine."


Senior UK military officers are genuinely worried that some British troops - regulars or reservists - might try to join the battle in Ukraine and, in doing so, risk handing Russia a propaganda victory.

Last week the Chief of Defence People, Lt Gen James Swift, sent out a message to the chain of command stressing that UK military personnel were "not authorised" to travel there.

He said that if there was any suspicion that troops were trying to make their way to Ukraine then it should be reported immediately to the Service Police.

The message warned that if serving British military personnel went to fight in Ukraine then they were putting not only their lives in danger but they also risked giving "the mistaken perception" to Russia that Britain had sent in troops to engage in hostilities.

Adm Sir Tony Radakin has now underlined that message, saying it would be "unlawful and unhelpful".

At present the MoD does not believe there are any examples of full-time British military personnel going absent to fight in Ukraine. But it's harder for them to keep tabs on reservists who often also have another career.

In his interview with the BBC's Sunday Morning show, the defence chief painted a picture of Russian forces suffering from heavy losses and low morale, with kit failings and a massive military convoy stalled outside the capital, Kyiv.

The Kremlin has lost more troops in a week than the UK did in 20 years in Afghanistan, he said, and some "lead elements of Russian forces" have been decimated.

He described stories of soldiers whose morale had been so knocked they had abandoned the convoy destined for Kyiv to camp in the forest.

On Saturday, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a fiery speech saying the West's reluctance to implement a no-fly zone over Ukraine had given Russia "a green light" to continue bombarding towns and villages.

But Adm Radakin insisted such an intervention would not help.

"The advice that we, as senior military professionals are giving our politicians, is to avoid doing things that are tactically ineffective and definitely to avoid doing things that tactically might lead to miscalculation or escalation."

He said most of the shelling and destruction was coming from artillery, not Russian aircraft, and to police a no-fly zone could mean taking out Russian defence systems and shooting down Russian aircraft - leading to an escalation, he added.

Speaking later on the same programme, UK deputy prime minister Dominic Raab said he understood Ukraine's cri de coeur but insisted the West had been clear all along that it would not engage in direct military confrontation.

That would give succour to Russian President Vladimir Putin's argument that he was in conflict with the West, he said.

Mr Putin said on Saturday that any such move to implement a no-fly zone would be seen "as participation in an armed conflict by that country".

'Bizarre, ridiculous' Putin comments


Adm Radakin also played down Mr Putin's nuclear threats.

The West has to maintain calmness and responsibility and not react rashly to the latest "bizarre or ridiculous comment" from Mr Putin, he said.

"We are prepared, we are professional armed forces, we will approach this conflict with that level of professionalism and responsibility that you would expect.

"We will also be incredibly confident in our ability to face down President Putin," he added.

He gave an insight into relations with his counterpart, Gen Valery Gerasimov, head of Russian armed forces, explaining the the Ministry of Defence has a direct line to Moscow's operational headquarters.

It is tested every day, he said, and he has used the line to tell Gen Gerasimov they need to speak. "I'm waiting for him to come back to me," he added.

Adm Radakin was also asked whether the West would know beforehand whether Mr Putin would use nuclear weapons.

He said he did not want to go into detail but there had been a "remarkable" level of intelligence in the months leading up to the invasion.

"There are some more discreet elements in terms of warning signs if this was going to start to chart a path towards nuclear escalation," he said.


Watch: We have a direct line to Moscow, says UK chief of defence staff Adm Sir Tony Radakin


AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
×