UK nuclear deterrent could do ‘untold damage’, Healey warns
John Healey said the UK should not ‘fight shy’ of the fact it has such weapons, which are the ‘ultimate guarantor’ to any hostile state if it attacks.
Britain could do “untold damage” to adversaries with its nuclear deterrent, the Defence Secretary has said as military officials discussed plans to safeguard any ceasefire for Ukraine.
John Healey said the UK should not “fight shy” of the fact it has such weapons, which he described as the “ultimate guarantor” in a stark warning to Moscow.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer warned Moscow would face “severe consequences” if it breached any peace deal with Kyiv amid fragile diplomatic efforts to secure a truce to end the war.
Sir Keir and Mr Healey met defence officials from 31 allied countries at the Northwood military headquarters in London on Thursday to firm up proposals for a so-called coalition of the willing to help enforce any agreement.
Mr Healey also laid the keel for Dreadnought, the first submarine being built to replace the Vanguard-class nuclear-armed submarines, in a ceremony in Barrow-in-Furness watched by Sir Keir Starmer.
In an interview with The Times newspaper afterwards, he said: “Our nuclear deterrent is there as a deterrent. It is the ultimate guarantor to any would-be adversary. We have the power to do untold damage to them if they attack us.”
He added: “We should not fight shy of the fact we are a nuclear power, that we do have an independent nuclear deterrent.”
The Prime Minister said the military planning involved offering support to Ukraine by air, sea and land if a deal were reached.
But he ruled out redeploying UK troops from countries such as Estonia to commit to Kyiv, saying: “There’s no pulling back from our commitments to other countries.
“The mood in the room – because this came up in the private briefing I had – was that this actually will help reinforce what we’re doing in Nato in other countries, so they see it as an opportunity rather than a question of moving troops around.”
Thursday’s gathering of defence allies marked a turning point in which the “political intention” among western allies to provide safeguards for Ukraine’s future becomes “reality” with discussions of how best to deter future Russian aggression.
Sir Keir said: “It is vitally important we do that work because we know one thing for certain, which is a deal without anything behind it is something that Putin will breach.
“We know that because it happened before. I’m absolutely clear in my mind it will happen again.”
He added: “The point of the security arrangements is to make it clear to Russia there will be severe consequences if they are to breach any deal.
“That’s why we need a forward-leaning European element, which is what I’ve been working on intensely – obviously with the French – that brings these allied countries together, and beyond.”
Calls this week between US President Donald Trump, Mr Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have failed to produce the 30-day ceasefire envisaged by the White House.
Instead, the Russian leader agreed to a suspension of attacks on energy infrastructure, although Ukraine has said other civilian targets including a hospital had been struck.
Speaking from the White House on Thursday, Mr Trump said that “we’re doing very well with regard to Ukraine and Russia”.
“We spoke yesterday with, as you know, President Putin and President Zelensky, and we would love to see that come to an end, and I think we’re doing pretty well in that regard, so hopefully we can save thousands of people a week from dying.”
Mr Zelensky said he believes a “lasting peace can be achieved this year” after his call with Mr Trump.
In the same call, the US leader suggested that Washington takes ownership of Ukrainian power plants to ensure their security.
However, Mr Zelensky later told journalists their conversation focused on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, and the following day made it clear that “the issue of ownership” of the other three plants was never discussed.
“All nuclear power plants belong to the people of Ukraine,” he said.
Elsewhere the Ukrainian president, who was updating European Union leaders on the discussions during their summit in Brussels on Thursday, said that overnight Russia carried out a series of drone attacks on the Kirovohrad region.
The strikes left “10 people wounded, including four children, and caused damage to homes, a church and infrastructure”, he said.
