Admiral Tony Radakin said that Russia posed the “biggest threat” to the UK.
London:
The head of Britain’s armed forces has dismissed speculation as “fantastic” that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ill or possibly assassinated.
As the Conservatives choose Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s successor, Admiral Tony Radakin also said Britain’s next leader should know that Russia poses the “biggest threat” to the UK and its challenge. will last for many decades.
“I think some of the comments that he is unwell or are really sure someone will assassinate him or take him out, I think they are daydreaming,” the chief of defense said of Putin, in a BBC television interview. on Sunday.
“As military experts, we see a relatively stable regime in Russia. President Putin has been able to defeat any opposition, we see a hierarchy invested in the President. Putin and so no one at the highest level is motivated to challenge President Putin,” Radakin added.
“And that’s bleak.”
Russia’s ground forces may pose less of a threat now, after suffering defeats in the war in Ukraine, the army chief said.
He estimated that the invasion killed or wounded 50,000 Russian soldiers and destroyed nearly 1,700 Russian tanks, as well as about 4,000 armored fighting vehicles.
“But Russia continues to be a nuclear power. It has cyber capabilities, space capabilities, and specific underwater programs that can threaten the underwater cables that allow the world’s communications to flow,” he said. spread around the world.”
According to Radakin, Ukraine will prevail in military briefings for Johnson’s successor when he takes office on September 6.
“And then we have to remind the prime minister of the special responsibility they have towards the UK as a nuclear power, and that is part of the process of getting started for a new British prime minister. .”
Meanwhile, Radakin spoke of a BBC investigation that found commandos in Britain’s elite Special Forces (SAS) corps killed at least 54 Afghans under suspicious circumstances a decade ago. , but the military chain of command overshadowed the concerns.
Military police have determined “that didn’t happen” but will review it if new concrete evidence emerges, he said.
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