Vladimir Putin considering options to attack the West, military expert fears: 'Britain is not ready'

Senior British MP Bob Seely, who sits on the Foreign Affairs Committee and has a PhD in Russian military strategy, has voiced his concerns that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be planning an attack on the UK.

The reason for his fears? The recent revelation that Russian 'spy' ships are mapping key energy infrastructure, such as wind farms, and communication cables off the British coast, reportedly in order to sabotage them.

Russia is preparing for 'wider conflict' with West

Seely believes that these 'ghost ships' reveal that 'Russia is probing for European vulnerabilities'. He writes for The Telegraph:

Apart from food, the daily critical requirements of modern society are energy and communications.

And, that Russia is doing this in order to prepare for the event of 'full-scale war with the West'. He said:

The sobering truth is that our potential adversaries, Russia in the West and China in the East, are gearing up for wider conflict…

For two decades, Putin has laid the groundwork for unconventional warfare... My fear is that Putin is gauging options to attack the West, should he wish to escalate, without triggering a Nato military response.

Seely argues that it could be difficult to prove who is responsible should such attacks on energy and communication channels take place, as 'we still don’t know who sabotaged the Nord Steam 2 pipeline'. Therefore, a military response may not be possible as NATO could not 'risk war on a suspicion'.

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Britain needs to prepare for conflict

The MP points out that while conflict is not guaranteed, preparation 'makes it less likely'. He emphasises:

We must urgently recognise the extent of the threat to the current order... And Britain is not ready.

Seely notes that in particular, 'the Nato alliance remains dangerously exposed at sea'. He said:

Using his spy ships in the North and Baltic seas, he is threatening to expand that conflict still further. We cannot afford to let him do so.

Tobias Ellwood, the Tory chairman of the Commons defence committee, agreed, telling The Telegraph'the penny must drop' and the UK must expand its Armed Forces in response to the threat. He said:

We simply can no longer protect our near seas and, rightly, step forward further afield, with our current peacetime-sized Navy, Army and Air Force.

Sources used:

The Telegraph: 'Vladimir Putin is preparing to attack the UK'

The Telegraph: 'Russian ‘spy ships’ threaten to sabotage UK energy supply'