Vladimir Putin could use a tactical nuclear weapon “in the next five years”—and it might not be in Ukraine, the former chair of the UK Defence Select Committee has warned. The government’s Strategic Defence Review was welcomed by ex-Tory MP Tobias Ellwood, however he warned that the Treasury may seek to stymie the Ministry of Defence’s plans to make Britain battle-ready.
“Unfortunately it could require a major grey zone attack against Britain, which will hit our economy, and by extension the Treasury, for the penny to drop that spending more on defence now to protect our economy should be our priority”, he told Express.co.uk. The former British Army officer added that he feared the Kremlin could order a tactical nuclear strike if the UK did not “expedite our capabilities”.
“In the next five years I could see a tactical nuclear weapon, a low-yield nuclear weapon, being used”, he said. Mr Ellwood added: “That prompts us to expedite our capabilities, this is where the F35-A comes in, to develop our own deterrents”.
F35-A’s are US fighter jets that carry tactical nuclear weapons. Last week, the Government’s highly anticipated SDR hinted that the UK may be poised to procure the planes: “More F-35s will be required over the next decade. This could comprise a mix of F-35A and B models according to military requirements to provide greater value for money”, it said.
Mr Ellwood is concerned that a bloodthirsty Putin could drop a tactical nuclear weapon on any target, not just Ukraine.
“I’m not necessarily saying Ukraine [would be the target], I’m saying it could be somewhere else. It could be somewhere else where Russia testing the boundaries, is testing the West’s response. How would we respond? Would we respond using conventional warfare or would it be like-for-like?”.
The former Tory minister’s concerns are shared by chemical weapons expert and former British Army officer Hamish de Bretton-Gordon.
“The way nuclear deterrence works is when there’s parity and equilibrium”, he told this website.
“Putin has tactical nuclear weapons that he might well feel that he has to use in Ukraine—and there is no real response from Europe which we could do.
“I think if we did say we were going to reintroduce them [tactical nuclear weapons] that would give Putin a real headache.”
On Wednesday, the Chancellor Rachel Reeves will deliver her Spending Review. After which, whether or not the Treasury is willing to commit to funding the proposals in the SDR will become clearer.