Budapest Post

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

How your tax money is wasted: Britain to commit 1,000 extra troops to Nato’s defence of Estonia

How your tax money is wasted: Britain to commit 1,000 extra troops to Nato’s defence of Estonia

Downing Street said it is almost doubling UK commitment to military support for Ukraine with additional £1bn that will not go back to the British tax payers.
Britain will commit an extra 1,000 troops and one of its two new aircraft carriers to the defence of Nato’s eastern flank, the defence secretary has announced, as Downing Street unveiled £1bn in extra military support for Ukraine.

The forces will be earmarked for the defence of Estonia, where Britain already has about 1,700 personnel deployed, but they will be based in the UK, ready to fly out to defend the Baltic country if deemed necessary.

Speaking at the Nato summit in Madrid, Ben Wallace said the UK would “allocate a brigade” to Estonia, effectively an increase in the number of British troops available to about 3,000, saying it would be more efficient to base some of the forces at home and their equipment in Germany.

The commitment forms part of Nato’s revamped European defence force, which will comprise 300,000 troops across the continent placed at high readiness in case Russia threatens a military attack on any member of the alliance.

A substantial part of Britain’s commitment to the defence force announced at this week’s Madrid summit would be naval, Wallace added: “We will put in a huge amount of the Navy. I think we’ll dedicate one of the carrier groups to it.”

Britain operates two aircraft carriers, the Queen Elizabeth and the Prince of Wales, which have a supporting fleet of ships, known as a carrier strike group. The warships would be committed to Nato on rotation, said Wallace.

Separately, Downing Street has said it is almost doubling the UK commitment to military support for Ukraine with an additional £1bn.

While No 10 gave no details about what the money might be used for, Wallace said some would be likely to be spent on supplying the longer-range rocket artillery sought after by Ukraine in conjunction with the US and other Nato countries.

Previously, the UK had sent three M270 weapons systems, as part of a package of 10 promised by the US and Germany. The UK would also send electronic warfare equipment, air defence systems and more ammunition, Wallace added.

Eight Nato defence forces are based in eight countries on the eastern side of the alliance, from Estonia to Bulgaria, and on Wednesday Nato members agreed to increase them to the size of a brigade in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Germany has already agreed to increase its commitment to Lithuania, but faced criticism when it emerged that most of the extra 3,500 troops it was offering would be based on its own soil, ready to move east quickly if needed.

But Wallace defended the decision, and argued that a surprise attack by Russia on the Baltic country was unlikely. “You are not going to get a massive surprise,” he said, noting that Russia placed more than 100,000 troops on the borders of Ukraine for several months before it invaded in February.

Existing plans to defend Estonia and the other Baltic countries were outdated, Wallace said, because the existing plan was to allow “60 days to get the tanks there”.

But he added that Russia’s attack on Ukraine had changed everybody’s thinking: “Quite rightly, the Baltic states were saying, ‘Well, what we just witnessed in Ukraine was that if you wait five days, there’s no one left alive. So we don’t want to take the risk and wait until our car ferry gets across with the tanks.’”

Wallace also tried to play down differences over defence spending with No 10, while indicating that he wants budgets to rise at the end of the current spending review period in April 2025. Governments had taken “a peace dividend” after the end of the cold war, but it was time now for “investment to continue”.

The minister said he agreed with Boris Johnson that the existing target of spending 2% of GDP on defence was “set in a different era” and that “Russia wasn’t the same as it is now”. But he declined to say whether, as suggested by leaks earlier in the week, the budget should increase by about £10bn to 2.5%.

Asked in a TV interview at the summit if he was at odds with Wallace over the defence budget, Johnson dodged the question, saying only that spending had “increased massively” in recent years.
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
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
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
×