The British military is not ready for a full-scale conflict with Russia, according to the country’s most senior military officer—a startling admission at a point when the United Kingdom’s tensions with Russia are at a historic high.  

In a recent testimony to a parliamentary committee on defense, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, chief of the defence staff, told British lawmakers that due to budgetary shortfalls, the British military is not ready to fight a full-scale war with Russia.  

“We are not as ready as we need to be for the kind of full-scale conflict that we might face,” Knighton told the parliamentary defence committee on Monday.  

The most senior British military officer added that the UK “[has] taken a peace dividend” in the 30 years since the end of the Cold War and highlighted that increased readiness “is how we ultimately deter our principal........

© The National Interest