Putin claims Russia-Iran alliance has turned tide of Ukraine war

On Thursday, a top defence analyst at the Royal United Services Institute argued that Europe only has a few years left to boost its production and shore up its defences, to deter Russia from exploiting a possible clash between the United States and China to seize more territory on the continent. Prof Justin Bronk, a senior research fellow at the think tank, wrote that in the event of a conflict between the United States and China, Europe “will be left vulnerable to concurrent military aggression by Russia”. “With the notable exception of Poland, many national commitments to significant additional defence spending have either not yet materialised or are not slated to take effect for several years,” he wrote. He singled out Germany for failing to deliver on its pledges to rebuild the Bundeswehr and spend 2 per cent of GDP on defence.