Political commentator Peter Hitchens has hit out at calls for conscription, saying the suggestion is made only by those keen to see a “never-ending war”.
Putin sent up to 200,000 soldiers into Ukraine expecting to sweep into the capital, Kyiv, in a matter of days.
The 2022 invasion was a failure in that regard with the war still waging today, but Western leaders have expressed concern that Putin will seek to go beyond Ukraine.
According to Hitchens, this idea is ‘fanciful’ and the idea more soldiers are required to deal with the threat is warmongering.
Peter Hitchens hit out at calls for conscription on GB News
GB NEWS
“What’s all this about anyway? Russia has been trying for years to take significant amounts of Ukraine and they haven’t succeeded”, he said.
“They can’t even take Kharkiv, which is 20 miles away from their border. The idea the Russian army is going to trundle ever westwards into Poland, Austria and Germany and then turn up in Dunkirk is fanciful.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
The matter was discussed on GB News
GB NEWS
“Western European countries are far better armed with better armies. They would be completely able to use their weapons without being provokers of nuclear war.
“The whole idea of Putin’s desire to recreate the Soviet Empire has no military or political reality.
“Even if Putin wanted to do that, his economy, country and army are not capable and anyone with anything about military strength knows that. Why are we being told this stuff?
“It’s just to get people used to a war which is wholly unnecessary.”
Experts have called for conscription in the UK GETTYEfforts have been made in recent weeks to ensure peace, with President Trump’s administration coming to an agreement with Ukraine on the terms of a 30-day ceasefire.
Putin is yet to agree to the terms, and Trump has warned his Russian counterpart that he is willing to take radical measures against him.
US officials landed in Moscow yesterday to discuss a potential ceasefire in Ukraine.
Special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived on Thursday morning to try to convince Russia to agree the deal which Ukraine has already done.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, we’ll tell you about them later.”