Russia could attack a Nato country within four years according to western intelligence assessments, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned on Friday.
He made the comments as he pledged his government would publish a long-delayed defence investment plan before next month’s Nato summit.
“It is our intelligence assessment and the assessment of other countries in Nato that there could be an attack by Russia on Nato as soon as 2030,” Starmer said.
“So you can see the urgency and the priority that we’re putting behind this now,” he added during a visit to a drone manufacturer in southwest England.
It echoes similar time frames expressed by other European leaders and Nato chief Mark Rutte who warned in December that Russia “could be ready to use military force against Nato within five years”.
Starmer has pledged to raise defence spending to 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product from next year, increasing to three per cent in the next parliament.
