Farewell to arms: Britain’s depleted military

Ayear ago on Friday, President Vladimir Putin unleashed blitzkrieg on Ukraine. It was an unprovoked assault that has so far led to more than 200,000 people being killed or wounded, but has failed in its intention of establishing Russian hegemony over its democratic neighbour. The West and much of the rest of the civilised world were shocked by the invasion, as well as being horrified and disgusted by the brutality of the Russian armed forces.   

So it was with undisguised adulation that Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky was greeted by a standing-room-only crowd of parliamentarians in a freezing Westminster Hall this month, giving one of the most inspirational addresses to be heard in the 900-year history of that room. ‘Ukrainian soldiers are being trained in Britain,’ he said. ‘In particular, to operate Challengers, your main battle tanks. It’s a tank coalition in action, and I thank you, Rishi, for this powerful defensive step – for tank assistance.’ He thanked Britain no fewer than nine times for our military assistance in the war, and asked that it should be extended to what he called ‘powerful English planes’. 

It is morally right and strategically sound for us to assist in a Russian defeat in Ukraine, but the British Army must be restocked with replacements for the huge amounts of equipment it has sent there. That is not presently happening, nor is the Treasury making the necessary provisions for that to happen in the future.

In almost all conflicts since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been heavy artillery that caused around two-thirds of battlefield casualties.