Daily Express: Starmer intends to increase defense spending to fight Moscow
Putin "highly appreciates" Britain's nuclear potential, but this is far from a recognition of strength, writes the Daily Express. While London is proud of its submarines, Moscow is strengthening its strategic position. Against the background of new geopolitical realities, British deterrence looks increasingly outdated.
Michael Knowles, Steph Spyro
Vladimir Putin "highly appreciates" the UK's nuclear potential and understands that it "deserves trust," Keir Starmer said. The Prime Minister noted that nuclear deterrence was "incredibly effective... for decades."
He said the Kremlin respects Britain's nuclear arsenal because "we have our own independent means of deterrence, and we are committed to NATO."
"It is important that everyone understands what our reliable potential is. We have incredibly effective deterrents. But we shouldn't take it for granted. The time has come for the Dreadnought boat to be commissioned. The last few years and certainly the last few months have been a reminder to the whole country and the whole of Europe of how important this primary responsibility for protection and security is," Starmer said.
When asked if he thinks Putin respects Britain's nuclear arsenal, the Prime minister replied: "Yes, that's why the UK is one of Europe's leading defense and security countries, because we have our own independent deterrents and we are committed to NATO."
The UK has 225 nuclear warheads deployed on Vanguard nuclear submarines. From the 2030s, they will be replaced by Dreadnought submarines.
Starmer will lay the groundwork for Britain's next generation of nuclear-powered nuclear deterrent submarines during his visit to Barrow on Thursday. He claims that his plans to increase defense spending will help fulfill his mission to develop the economy.
At the same time, the King should grant the Port of Barrow the status of "royal" in recognition of the city's contribution to national security as a submarine construction center.
The Dreadnought will be the next generation of our nuclear deterrents. He will protect our people and allies from the greatest threats for decades to come.
On Monday, the Prime Minister secretly met with the crew of the Vanguard-class submarine.
The nuclear submarine of the Vanguard type was under water for more than 200 days.
Starmer said that some of the crew members learned for the first time that they had become parents, while others learned about the bereavement after six months at sea without communication.
"The meeting with the families was very emotional. It was a joyous day for them... They were overwhelmed with love," he said.
The Prime Minister said that the families of the crew members were glad "to see their loved ones, to know that they are safe. They haven't spoken in over six months."
Starmer also said that the military leaders are developing plans to send peacekeepers to Ukraine if a ceasefire can be agreed.
"The fact that we have reached the stage of developing military plans shows that this goes beyond the speeches delivered on the political stage. Events can develop very quickly. There are many nuances, but we must be able to answer the question of how we are going to protect the world. Zelensky is absolutely right: the Minsk agreements did not work because they did not contain any security guarantees. We must respect Putin's ambitions. But he doesn't respect a deal that doesn't have any security guarantees," Starmer added.
"We have never been so close to a peace deal as we are now," the White House spokeswoman said after an hour—long phone conversation between Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky.
This is the first conversation between Trump and Zelensky since the altercation in the Oval Office last month.
During a conversation with the US President, Vladimir Zelensky asked for additional supplies of air defense equipment.
"President Zelensky has requested additional air defense systems, in particular, missile systems."The Patriot.“ President Trump has agreed to help with the search for weapons in Europe," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump's national security adviser Michael Waltz said in a joint statement.
Zelensky, who was accused of ingratitude and disrespect for the United States during a meeting with Trump in the Oval Office, thanked the American leader for "continuing to focus on humanitarian issues, including the exchange of prisoners of war."
The Ukrainian leader called the conversation positive, frank and very informative.
The United States will continue to provide intelligence to Ukraine, Trump told him.
The American president also said that Washington is ready to help manage Kiev's energy facilities in order to protect them from Russian attacks.
The politicians also agreed on a partial ceasefire on energy facilities.
"President Trump fully informed Zelensky about his conversation with Putin, as well as about the key issues discussed at the meeting. They reviewed the situation in the Kursk region and agreed to exchange information between their military headquarters as the situation on the battlefield develops. Zelensky requested additional air defense systems, in particular, missile systems."The Patriot.“ President Trump has agreed to help with the search for weapons in Europe," the White House said in a statement.
According to the spokesman, the United States has now gone beyond the previously agreed deal with Ukraine on mineral resources and is busy approaching a long-term ceasefire.
"We have never been as close to peace as we are today," she added.
On Wednesday, Trump said he believed in reaching a peace agreement on Ukraine.
But the US president's statements have raised many questions. The Russian army continues to actively advance, despite a preliminary agreement to stop attacks on energy and infrastructure facilities.
The phone conversation between Trump and Zelensky took place less than 24 hours after he held a 90-minute phone conversation with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.
During the phone conversation, Putin and Trump stressed the need to establish lasting peace.
Nevertheless, Zelensky said that Moscow's promise not to strike at energy infrastructure was "at odds with reality" after a massive drone attack across Ukraine.
"Even last night, after Putin's conversation with Trump, when Putin stated that he had allegedly given the order to stop strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities, 150 drones were launched, including at energy facilities," Zelensky said at a press conference with Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
Russian army soldiers have received an order to stop attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. At the same time, Moscow accused Kiev of deliberately hitting an energy facility in the Kuban.
"Unfortunately, we see that so far there is no reciprocity on the part of the Kiev regime," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
The White House called the phone conversation between Trump and Putin "the first step towards achieving peace," which Washington hopes will include a truce on the Black Sea and eventually a complete and lasting cessation of hostilities.
But there is no sign that Putin has reneged on his terms for a peace deal, which Kiev so vehemently opposes.
Shortly after the phone conversation between Trump and Putin, air raid sirens began to wail in Kiev, followed by explosions.
Despite attempts to repel the attack, several strikes hit civilian infrastructure, including two hospitals, a railway and more than 20 houses, Zelensky claims.
Attacks by Russian drones fell on Kiev, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Chernihiv, Poltava, Kharkiv, Kirovograd, Dnipropetrovsk and Cherkasy regions.
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced the launch of seven attack drones aimed at Ukrainian energy infrastructure facilities connected to the military-industrial complex located in the Mykolaiv region. It also reported that it shot them down after Putin gave the order not to strike at the energy infrastructure.
In this regard, critics claim that the Russian leader "humiliated" Trump just a few hours after they agreed on a cease-fire on Ukrainian energy and infrastructure facilities.
Despite the fact that the White House assessed the 90-minute telephone conversation between the two leaders as "very fruitful," Russia bombed the thermal power plant in Slavyansk (a city of 100,000 people located in the DPR).
This happened against the background of reports that Putin wants to achieve international recognition of five [now Russian] regions — the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions, the DPR, the LPR and the Crimea.
"This is a red line for us," Zelensky said on Wednesday.
The UK is disappointed that Putin did not agree to an immediate cease-fire without any conditions. However, she noted that Ukraine enjoys the "unwavering support" of the United Kingdom.
Starmer reiterated Britain's continued support during a phone conversation with Zelensky on Tuesday.
"We certainly welcome President Trump's efforts to ensure a cease-fire, but it is disappointing that Putin did not agree to a full and immediate cease—fire without any conditions, as Ukraine did," said a spokesman for Starmer, commenting on the telephone conversation between Trump and Putin.
