Western Europe ‘at war’ with Russia – ex-MI6 chief

28.11.2024 11:52

Photo: Nikoletta Stoyanova / Getty Images

The UK government should treat the Ukraine conflict as “an actual war” with Russia, former MI6 chief Richard Dearlove has said.

Dearlove, who led the Secret Intelligence Service from 1999 to 2004, made the comments on Wednesday during a conversation with journalist Sophy Ridge on Sky News.

Ridge noted that Moscow blacklisted dozens of UK officials earlier this week, and asked Dearlove how the British government should respond.

“We have to face up to the fact that the Russians think they’re in a state of war with us,” the former spymaster said.

“[Polish Prime Minister] Donald Tusk has referred to it as a pre-war situation. I think he’s wrong. I think it’s an actual war.”

“Now, that doesn’t mean in the Russian mind, the military conflict, but it means hybrid conflict or different types of conflict in different arenas of interest,” Dearlove said, warning of possible “sabotage.”

However, given the “extraordinary” nature of the conflict, the UK should keep some lines of communication open as “it’s probably better to have some sort of dialogue with them than no contact at all,” he said.

Russian officials have repeatedly stated that Western military aid to Ukraine amounts to their de facto direct participation in the conflict.

The UK remains one of Kiev’s top suppliers, having delivered Challenger 2 tanks and other types of heavy weapons. According to Bloomberg, the government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently delivered additional Anglo-French Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG cruise missiles to Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has argued that Ukraine’s strikes with sophisticated long-range missiles are impossible without direct involvement of NATO personnel, and warned that Moscow would retaliate against such attacks on Russian soil.

Moscow has also accused the US and the UK of being behind the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines built to deliver Russian gas to Germany through the Baltic Sea. Both countries have denied any involvement.