Boris Johnson claims UK to spend 2.5% of GDP on defense by 2030 | Political news

Boris Johnson has announced the UK government will spend 2.5% of GDP on defense by 2030, as the NATO Secretary-General warned that the alliance must stand up to Vladimir Putin.

Statement from NATO in Madrid, the prime minister told broadcasters that “we need long-term investments in critical capabilities such as the combat air force of the future, while also adapting to a more dangerous and competitive world.” “.

“The logical conclusion of the investments we are proposing to embark on, these decisions, is that we will have 2.5% of GDP on defense by the end of the decade,” he continued.

UK military aid adds 1 billion pounds – live updates on Ukraine

Mr Johnson said spending targets that NATO members set a decade ago – with each country pledging to spend 2% of GDP on defense – “were then set for a very different era”.

“What we’re saying is we want Jens Stoltenberg, [NATO] General Secretary, to start work on that new goal now – and he agreed to do it. “

The prime minister added that the “price of freedom” is “always worth it”.

“Unless we get the right results in Ukraine, Putin there will be further aggression against other parts of the former Soviet Union, more or less with impunity, which will increase global instability, more oil shocks, more panic. and add economic suffering to the whole world,” he warned.

Mr Johnson spoke after NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance’s reinforcement of troops on the eastern flank was to ensure the Russian president did not miscalculate or misunderstand the allies’ readiness to act.

“We live in a more dangerous world, and we live in a more unpredictable world, and we live in a world where we have actually had wars in Europe,” he said. with large-scale military operations.

“We also know this could get worse because if this turns out to be a full-scale war between Russia and NATO, then we will suffer damage, death, destruction on this scale. , much worse than what we saw in Ukraine.”

There has been an ongoing debate in the UK about whether to increase defense spending due to the conflict in Ukraine.

Earlier this week, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace urged the Prime Minister to increase spending on the UK’s armed forces in response to war.

NATO in ‘strong health’

Mr Johnson described the NATO alliance as “unity” as the summit in Madrid ended.

“The NATO alliance is clearly in good shape and is getting stronger every day, with new members and a new purpose,” he said.

“We can see that our work has been cut… If history is any guide, then I believe this great union will succeed again.”

The prime minister also pledged to continue to increase military support for Kyiv and support the country “no matter what difficulties may arise”.

“It is right and reasonable to continue to support Ukraine in the way that we are and in fact,” he continued.

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Zelenskyy praises UK for additional military support

Earlier, on Thursday, the UK government announced it would provide an additional 1 billion pounds of military assistance to Ukraine. It brings the UK’s total military assistance since the outbreak of war to £2.3 billion – more than any other country outside the US.

The Prime Minister said the additional money would go towards capabilities including sophisticated air defense systems, unmanned aerial vehicles, innovative new electronic warfare equipment and thousands of critical pieces of equipment for soldiers. Ukrainian doctor.

Posting on social media, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the UK for the additional money.

Speaking to Sky News this morning, Liz Truss warns that NATO members must make it their “absolute priority” to prevent war in Ukraine and push the Russian military out of the country – or face a “much less secure Europe”.

Her comments came as Ukraine’s Defense Minister, Oleksiy Reznikov, told Sky News that the Third World War “has begun”.