The co -founder of Cylon Ventures and exassora of the former British Minister Tony Blair, Grace Cassy, has been one of the six external experts convened by the United Kingdom government to prepare a report that analyzes the main security challenges facing the country. In statements collected by Cassy launches an echo notice throughout Europe: “Inside NATO – not only the United Kingdom, but all member countries – we have to change if we want to spend that money effectively.”
The report, which focuses on the urgent need to be “prepared for combat”, proposes that new military technologies are integrated into a maximum period of three months. Nothing endless waiting. The battlefield, Cassy warns, moves at another speed. “There is a constant battle to maintain technological superiority, but that advantage lasts very little.” A very clear example: drones. “You can fly it one day and, a week later, it is no longer useful if the frequencies have been interfered.”
Acquisition processes in countries such as the United Kingdom – and, by extension, in large part of NATO – are still stuck by bureaucracy, fear of risk and excessive dependence on a few giants in the arms industry. According to Cassy, this seriously limits the reaction capacity to an enemy who has learned to adapt quickly, as Russia has demonstrated in Ukraine despite international sanctions. kyiv, meanwhile, has made virtue, applying innovative solutions with limited resources.
Although the British Government has accepted all the recommendations of the report, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has not yet set date to reach 3 % of GDP in defense spending, a figure considered minimal to meet the objectives of the text. But as Cassy warns, it is not just about putting more money: “Although tomorrow we dedicated 5 % of GDP, if we continue with our old habits we would not be prepared for what is coming,” ditch.
Putin denies the threat: “It’s nonsense”
The president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has denied on Wednesday any intention to attack an NATO member country. “We all understand that this is nonsense (…) NATO’s military budget is 1.3 billion dollars, more than everyone together, including Russia,” he said during a meeting with international agencies, including EFE, within the framework of the International Economic Forum of St. Petersburg.
Putin crossed out “legend” the alleged Russian threat and accused Western governments of feeding that story to justify their own rearmament. “This legend that Russia is going to attack Europe, NATO countries, is the same unlikely lie that try to make the population of Western European countries believe,” he said. In his opinion, NATO’s decision to strengthen their defense budgets “will not benefit anyone” and “create additional risks”, although he admitted that Moscow cannot influence that dynamic. “It’s absolutely irrational and meaningless,” he insisted.
NATO general secretary, Mark Rutte, has recently warned that Russia could be able to launch a conventional offensive against the alliance in the next five years. But for Cassy, the danger is not only on the horizon, but here and now: not in the form of tanks crossing borders, but of cyber attacks, sabotages and constant interference in key infrastructure. “We are freeing a constant struggle under the conventional war threshold. And that demands that we seriously invest in our broader defenses,” he insists.
Putin, meanwhile, ensures that Russia is self -sufficient in defense and that it will continue to reinforce its strategic abilities, regardless of what NATO does. Meanwhile, in Ukraine a war is fought that not only redefines the maps, but also the rules of combat. And many Western allies, according to experts, are still not ready to play with these new rules.
