MOSCOW, March 7. /TASS/. The United Kingdom cannot independently replace the United States either in terms of intelligence or military supplies to Ukraine, Russian Ambassador to London Andrey Kelin said on the Rossiya-24 TV channel.
"How much will they be able to allocate in total for the forces they want to deploy to Ukraine? <...> Britain will not be able to replace the United States on its own, including in terms of intelligence," the diplomat noted. Meanwhile, he pointed out that, according to the British themselves, their army's combat capability is rather weak.
The diplomat agreed that "all the hostile statements coming from London lack any real foundation." He noted that the number of ground troops in Britain is now at its lowest since the Napoleonic Wars. "The army is underfunded, soldier recruitment is low, and that’s why few people want to join," Kelin explained.
The ambassador added that the UK army faces "significant issues with military equipment, including outdated systems, a shortage of armored vehicles, artillery, and air defense systems. There is also a lack of engineering resources and challenges in developing a modern communication system." "Of course, the transfer of large stocks of weapons to the Kiev regime has played a role," the Russian ambassador concluded.