British Defence Secretary Grant Shepps has warned that the West must guarantee Russia's defeat in Ukraine. Otherwise, it will send a signal to other dictatorships, such as China.
Britain issued a warning about Russia's war against Ukraine
The Minister of Defense warned that undemocratic world regimes are watching the war in Ukraine and may attack Western countries if they think they have "run out of patience."
Regimes that do not believe in democracy are watching and we must demonstrate that the democratic way is the way that always wins.
Shepps told The Telegraph that Britain was "living in increasingly dangerous times".
Everyone is watching — the Iranians are watching. Will we run out of stamina and patience and leave? China will watch the Indo-Pacific region, North Korea will watch.
The minister emphasised that for the national interests of Great Britain and the Western civilized world, "it is vitally important that Ukraine be successful."
Shapps said he would use next week's meeting of NATO defence ministers to urge member states to meet a commitment to spend 2% of GDP on defence to "make sure they are contributing to that global security by making sure tyranny cannot win".
Shapps met with Lloyd Austin and Anthony Blinken in Washington this week, where he said the West needs to be "very, very clear that the problem is existential ... it's not just Ukraine."
NATO warns of possible war with Russia
On January 18, one of NATO's leading officials, Admiral Rob Bauer, said the Alliance was "preparing for a conflict with Russia."
Earlier, Shepps warned in a speech at Lancaster House in London that the West was "moving from a post-war world to a pre-war one".
Last week, the British army's Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Patrick Sanders, called for "preparatory steps" to put Britain on a "war footing", including increasing troop numbers. At the same time, the prime minister's office denied that the government plans to reintroduce conscription.
