The British government has pledged to increase defense expenditure to 2.5% of GDP by the end of this decade in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Prime Minister Boris Johnson made the announcement on Thursday.
At a news conference during the NATO summit in Madrid, which was overshadowed by the war in Ukraine, Johnson stated that “we need to spend for the long term in key assets like future combat air, while simultaneously adjusting to a more hazardous and more competitive world.”
We will spend 2.5 percent of GDP on defense by the end of the decade, according to the logical outcome of the investments and decisions we propose to make.
His remarks follow NATO’s Wednesday declaration that Russia poses the greatest “direct danger” to Western security and its adoption of measures to modernize Ukraine’s struggling military forces.
The NATO summit, according to Johnson, was successful and “countries around the table are also acknowledging that they must invest more,” he added.
Although Johnson stated earlier this week that the 2 percent was always supposed to be “a floor, not a ceiling,” the alliance requests that members keep their defense expenditure over the 2 percent benchmark.
Due to increased military backing for Ukraine, Britain’s defense spending was anticipated to be 2.3 percent of GDP this year; Johnson’s new promise on Thursday would mark an increase from that level.
Ben Wallace, the defense secretary, stated earlier this week that Britain needs increase defense spending to counter challenges from China and other nations in addition to Russia. He stated that investment must rise starting in 2024, the year the present expenditure plan is scheduled to be reviewed.
In response to a question about whether Britain’s high inflation rate might make people less inclined to support Ukraine, Johnson said: “The point I would make about the cost of freedom, to put it another way, is that actually it is always worth paying.
Without the proper outcome in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin (the president of Russia) will be in a position to move aggressively against other regions of the former Soviet Union more or less without repercussion, which will increase worldwide unrest.
Johnson made his comments as Russian soldiers left the important Black Sea bastion of Snake Island on Thursday, giving Ukraine a win that the British prime minister cited as proof of Ukraine’s resilience.
Britain promised Ukraine further military assistance worth 1 billion pounds ($1.2 billion) on Wednesday.
