LONDON, March 13. /TASS/. The UK government expects further deterioration of the global security situation and warns that the period of instability is likely to last beyond the 2030s, according to the Integrated Review Refresh 2023 released on Monday.
"There is a growing prospect that the international security environment will further deteriorate in the coming years, with state threats increasing and diversifying in Europe and beyond. The risk of escalation is greater than at any time in decades, and an increasing number of advanced weapons systems have been developed and are being tested or adopted," the 63-page document says. "the transition into a multipolar, fragmented and contested world has happened more quickly and definitively than anticipated. We are now in a period of heightened risk and volatility that is likely to last beyond the 2030s."
According to the document, the British government promises to increase defense spending by five billion pounds (six billion US dollars) in the next two years amid the conflict in Ukraine. Specifically, three billion pounds (3.6 billion US dollars) will go to fund the development of nuclear deterrent forces and the rest of the sum - to replenish munitions and weapons supplied to Ukraine.