Everyone in the UK ‘Must Step Up’ to Deter Russian Threat of Wider War, Armed Forces Chief Warns
Key Takeaways:
- Deterrence now requires a whole-nation effort — Defence leaders warn that preventing a wider war with Russia depends not only on the armed forces, but on the readiness and resilience of society as a whole.
- The threat extends beyond the battlefield — Intelligence chiefs stress that the “front line is everywhere”, with cyber attacks, disinformation and economic disruption forming part of modern conflict.
- Public preparedness is becoming unavoidable — The call for citizens, industry and public services to “step up” signals a shift towards Cold War-style national mobilisation in response to rising geopolitical risk.
Britain is entering a more dangerous and uncertain era in which national security can no longer be treated as the sole responsibility of the armed forces, according to the UK’s most senior military officer. In a stark warning reminiscent of Cold War rhetoric, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton is set to tell an audience in London that the entire country — from government and industry to universities, transport networks and ordinary citizens — must “step up” to deter the growing threat posed by Russia.
The speech, delivered at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), reflects mounting concern among defence and intelligence leaders that Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine could escalate into a wider conflict involving NATO, including the UK. It also marks one of the clearest signals yet that Britain’s security establishment believes national resilience — not just military strength — will determine whether deterrence holds.
“The situation is more dangerous than I have known during my career,” Sir Richard will say. “The response requires more than simply strengthening our armed forces. A new era for defence doesn’t just mean our military and government stepping up — it means our whole nation stepping up.”
Russia and the Risk of Wider War
Sir Richard’s warning comes amid intensifying fears that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine represents not an isolated regional conflict, but part of a broader strategy to challenge, weaken and ultimately undermine NATO. In excerpts released in advance by the Ministry of Defence, the chief of the defence staff is expected to say that Moscow’s willingness to target its neighbours “threatens the whole of NATO, including the UK”.
“The Russian leadership has made clear that it wishes to challenge, limit, divide and ultimately destroy NATO,” he will say.
While there is no suggestion that Russia is preparing an imminent military attack on Britain, defence chiefs argue that deterrence depends on readiness long before a crisis erupts. The concern is that miscalculation, escalation in Ukraine, or deliberate pressure on NATO’s eastern flank could rapidly draw the alliance into a much broader confrontation.
Senior NATO figures have echoed these concerns. Mark Rutte, the alliance’s secretary general, recently warned that Europe must prepare for war on a scale “our grandparents and great-grandparents endured” — a comparison to the world wars that underlines the gravity of current assessments inside Western defence establishments.
‘The Front Line Is Everywhere’
Reinforcing the message, the new head of MI6, Blaise Metreweli, will deliver her first major public speech on Monday, warning that the UK is operating in a “new age of uncertainty” in which the traditional boundaries between peace and war have blurred.
“The front line is everywhere,” she will say.
Ms Metreweli, who became the first female chief of the Secret Intelligence Service in October, is expected to argue that Russia’s strategy deliberately exports instability, disruption and chaos well beyond conventional battlefields.
“The export of chaos is a feature, not a bug, in the Russian approach to international engagement,” she will say. “We should be ready for this to continue until Putin is forced to change his calculus.”
Her remarks reflect a growing consensus within the intelligence community that modern conflict increasingly plays out through cyber attacks, sabotage, espionage, economic coercion and disinformation — often below the threshold of open warfare. In this environment, civilians, businesses and public institutions are no longer bystanders but targets.
A Whole-of-Society Approach to Defence
What distinguishes Sir Richard Knighton’s intervention is the explicit call for society as a whole to prepare. Deterrence, he argues, is not simply about tanks, ships and aircraft, but about whether a nation can absorb shocks, sustain itself and continue functioning under pressure.
“But deterrence is also about our resilience to these threats,” he will say. “It’s about how we harness all our national power, from universities to industry, the rail network to the NHS. It’s about our defence and resilience being a higher national priority for all of us. An ‘all-in’ mentality.”
This approach echoes thinking that has gained traction across NATO since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine exposed vulnerabilities in Western ammunition stockpiles, supply chains and industrial capacity. It also reflects lessons from Ukraine itself, where civilian resilience, economic endurance and societal cohesion have been as critical as battlefield success.
The message is clear: in a modern conflict, victory or defeat would be shaped as much by logistics, infrastructure and public morale as by frontline combat.
The Legacy of the Cold War — and What Was Lost
Britain has been here before. During the Cold War, the UK maintained an extensive system of national preparedness designed to manage the transition from peace to war. Known as the Government War Book, it set out in extraordinary detail how every part of society would function during a major conflict.
The War Book covered not only the armed forces and emergency services, but also schools, hospitals, public transport, broadcasters, local authorities and key industries. It included plans for rationing, civil defence, emergency powers and the protection of critical infrastructure.
However, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, this apparatus was quietly dismantled. Successive governments took what became known as the “peace dividend”, redirecting investment away from defence and national resilience towards other priorities such as health, education and welfare.
Sky News and Tortoise have documented the long-term effects of these decisions in their podcast series The Wargame, highlighting how the armed forces were hollowed out and how wider national preparedness eroded.
Sir Richard’s speech appears to signal a recognition that this post-Cold War assumption of enduring peace is no longer tenable.
No Immediate Spending Surge — But Growing Pressure
Despite the stark warnings, there is no indication that the government is planning an immediate acceleration of defence spending beyond existing commitments. The current plan is to increase defence expenditure gradually from around 2.3% of GDP to 3.5% over the next decade.
Many senior military figures believe this timeline is too slow given the scale and immediacy of the threats. Privately, some officers worry that the UK risks falling behind allies who are moving faster to rearm and rebuild industrial capacity.
Sir Richard is expected to acknowledge the planned uplift in funding, noting that “the price of peace is increasing”. But his emphasis is likely to be on priorities and mindset rather than budgets alone.
Defence analysts point out that money, while essential, is not sufficient on its own. Without a clear national strategy for mobilisation, resilience and public engagement, increased spending risks being absorbed into existing pressures rather than delivering transformational change.
Preparing the Public — Without Panic
One of the most sensitive challenges facing the government is how to communicate these risks to the public. Ministers and military leaders are keen to avoid alarmism, but they also fear that complacency leaves the UK vulnerable.
Sir Richard’s speech is notable for its direct appeal to citizens, urging them to understand that defence is not an abstract concept confined to distant battlefields. From cyber security and energy resilience to transport reliability and healthcare capacity, everyday systems could come under strain in a crisis.
The aim, defence officials say, is not to frighten people, but to foster realism — an understanding that security in the 21st century requires collective effort.
Ms Metreweli’s warning that the “front line is everywhere” underscores this point. Disinformation campaigns, cyber attacks and economic disruption are already part of daily life, even if they are not always recognised as such.
A New Era of Uncertainty
Both speeches reflect a broader reassessment of the global order. The head of MI6 has said she has “never seen the world in a more dangerous state”, while intelligence chiefs warn that state-on-state competition is intensifying alongside rapid technological change.
Artificial intelligence, cyber capabilities, space systems and autonomous weapons are reshaping how wars are fought and how societies are targeted. At the same time, authoritarian states are becoming more willing to accept risk and ambiguity, exploiting grey zones between peace and war.
“We are heading into uncertainty,” Sir Richard will say, “and that uncertainty is becoming more profound, both as our adversaries become more capable and unpredictable, and as unprecedented technology change manifests itself.”
Deterrence Beyond the Military
At the heart of the warning is a simple but unsettling idea: deterrence now depends on whether an entire nation is prepared, not just its armed forces.
Ukraine’s experience has demonstrated that resilience — the ability to adapt, endure and mobilise — can frustrate even a larger, more heavily armed adversary. Conversely, a society that is divided, complacent or unprepared may invite pressure or coercion.
For the UK, stepping up may mean uncomfortable conversations about priorities, trade-offs and responsibilities. It may involve greater expectations of industry, universities and public services, as well as citizens themselves.
What is clear from the language used by Britain’s defence and intelligence leaders is that the era of assuming security is guaranteed has come to an end.
As Sir Richard Knighton prepares to deliver his speech, the message to the country is stark but deliberate: in a world where the risk of wider war is rising, defence is no longer someone else’s job. It is a shared national responsibility — and one that must be taken seriously if deterrence is to hold.
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