Europe’s way of life is in danger from NATO’s enemies if defence spending is not increased, the head of the German army has warned.
General Alfons Mais said the West was at risk of falling behind poorer nations in the development of new weapons technology, such as drones.
It comes as military leaders have repeatedly raised concerns about Europe’s ability to defend itself against increased Russian aggression.
This morning Russia appeared to strike the Ukrainian city of Dnipro with an intercontinental ballistic missile in a dramatic escalation of the conflict.
And in a gloating TV address, Putin warned the Kremlin could use the new advanced rockets against countries that have sanctioned Ukraine’s use of western-made missiles on Russian soil.
Mais, the German army chief, has since called for considerably higher defence spending to allow Western countries to protect themselves.
Speaking at the Berlin Security Conference, he said: ‘It’s our task to convey the message that the threat is real. Our way of life is in danger.’
‘To maintain the cohesion of the alliance, Europe has to deliver. We cannot outsource our security to others,’ he added.
Mais said the German military was racing to catch up on new types of warfare, such as the use of drones, which have rapidly developed during the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Kyiv is though to be getting through 10,000 drones per month with the weapons though to account for 90 per cent of the causalities in some battles.
‘We missed this development a little bit,’ Mais said. ‘I think we failed more or less altogether to draw the right conclusions. And now we need time to close the gap.’
It comes as the Russian ambassador to the UK declared on Thursday that Ukraine’s use of Storm Shadow missiles on Russian territory means Britain ‘is now directly involved in this war’.
‘This firing cannot happen without NATO staff, British staff as well,’ Andrei Kelin told Sky News this afternoon – a day after British-made rockets battered a military base in Russia’s Kursk region.
Horrifying footage has also since emerged of officials in Kyiv suspect were warheads from a Russian ICBM or advanced rocket raining down over Ukraine at 5:17am local time today.
‘Today, our crazy neighbour once again showed what he really is – and how afraid he is,’ Volodymyr Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian President said the missile’s speed and altitude match the profile of an ICBM after Kyiv’s air force reported the explosions were caused by such a weapon, though evidence has not yet been provided.
The UN has called the testing of the new Russian missile in Ukraine ‘worrying’ and Downing Street condemned him for further escalating the conflict.
Putin said that Russia has carried out ‘testing in combat conditions of one of the newest Russian mid-range missile systems… Our engineers named it Oreshnik’.
In a rare move of making a statement himself, Putin said in a televised address that Moscow has the right to strike military targets of countries whose weapons are used by Ukraine to hit Russian territory.
‘We consider ourselves entitled to use our weapons against the military facilities of those countries that allow their weapons to be used against our facilities,’ Putin said.
In the event of an escalation of aggressive actions, we will respond just as decisively.
‘In response to the use of American and British long-range weapons, on November 21 of this year, the Russian armed forces launched a combined strike on one of the facilities of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine.’
‘In combat conditions, one of the newest Russian medium-range missile systems was tested, among other things. In this case, with a ballistic missile in a nuclear-free hypersonic equipment.’
He also warned that US air defence systems wouldn’t be capable of intercepting Russian missiles.
A spokesperson for No 10 said it was ‘an example of escalatory behaviour from Russia’.
But they added it ‘only serves to strengthen our resolve and to ensure that Ukraine has what it needs to act in self-defence against Russia’s reckless and illegal invasion’.
Defence Secretary John Healey earlier revealed to a committee of MPs that the UK knew Russia had been ‘preparing for months’ to fire a new ballistic missile.
He said that Ukraine faces a ‘serious moment’ in its defence against Putin’s full-scale invasion but refused to confirm that Kyiv had been given permission to use Storm Shadow missiles in Russia.
Downing Street and the Ministry of Defence have repeatedly declined to comment publicly on the use of Storm Shadow missiles.
‘It risks both operational security and in the end the only one that benefits from such a public debate is President Putin,’ the Defence Secretary told MPs.
Battle lines in Ukraine are now ‘less stable than at any time since the early days of the full-scale Russian invasion’, Mr Healey said, citing British intelligence.
Speaking at the same time, Sir Keir told the House of Commons the UK ‘will not be deterred or distracted by reckless threats’ from Putin, who has lowered the threshold for using his nuclear arsenal.
Sir Keir also insisted that all the UK’s support for Kyiv was ‘in accordance with international law’ and ‘always for self-defence’.