‘We can’t sit back and watch’: Former MI6 boss says Britain must get ready for war as Putin threatens Europe

 

    Dr Rachel Ellehuus, director general of the Royal United Services Institute, said Putin is trying to redraw the map of Europe (The Independent)

Britain Must Rearm to Counter Putin’s Threat, Says Former MI6 Chief

Sir Alex Younger, the former head of MI6, has warned that Britain must urgently rearm and rebuild its military reserves—potentially through a modern form of national service—to counter the growing threat from Vladimir Putin, who aims to dominate Eastern Europe and undermine the West.

In an interview with Independent TV, Younger said the UK must come to terms with the reality of Russian aggression and the geopolitical shift marked by Putin's alliance with Donald Trump. “Putin and Trump together have done their best to persuade us that the rules have changed,” he said.

Younger expressed concern about Britain’s readiness for conflict: “We’ve disarmed militarily. We’ve dismantled our military-industrial base. And we’ve been free from existential threats for so long that we’ve lost the collective will to defend ourselves.”

He added that the UK has become too detached from the idea of national defense, likening public perception of the military to that of a sports team: “We watch them like we watch the England football team—doing their job somewhere else on TV. That mindset can’t continue.”

On the topic of conscription or national service, Younger said he wasn’t advocating a specific model but stressed the need for defense to become “a more integrated feature of everyday life,” potentially through a broader conception of military reserves.

When asked about past allegations that Trump could be working for Russia, Younger responded with a notable shrug: “I personally don’t think he’s a Russian agent. I went out of my way not to find out—why would you want to know? The point is he agrees with Putin’s worldview: that big countries have more rights over small ones.”

Joining Younger on The Conversation was Dr. Rachel Ellehuus, former Pentagon envoy to NATO and now head of the Royal United Services Institute. She highlighted the shift in U.S. policy under Trump as the greatest shock to European security. Trump's disregard for NATO and openness to Putin’s claims in Ukraine, she said, has emboldened the Kremlin and left countries like Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova in a geopolitical limbo.

While she stopped short of predicting a Russian invasion of the Baltic states or Poland, Ellehuus warned that Putin is testing NATO’s Article 5—the commitment that an attack on one member is an attack on all—through a surge in “below-the-threshold” hybrid attacks.

According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Russia carried out 300% more unconventional attacks in Europe between 2023 and 2024. These targeted transportation systems, critical infrastructure, governments, and industry.

Younger suggested that Putin, Trump, and China’s Xi Jinping are reshaping the world into zones of influence, challenging sovereignty and global norms. He also raised concerns about the erosion of trust within Western intelligence, worsened by Trump’s mishandling of classified information—such as revealing ISIS plot details to Russian officials.

Dr. Ellehuus condemned the use of unsecured phones for sensitive military communication, saying secure video links are essential to protect operatives in the field.

Despite these risks, Younger expressed faith in the resilience of Western intelligence partnerships, especially within the Five Eyes alliance. “CIA officers would die in a ditch to protect their human sources,” he said, adding, “We’re in unusual times, but the machinery to preserve our intelligence integrity remains strong—even if it's more vulnerable than before.”