The threat from Vladimir Putin's Russia is chilling. But not as frightening as Keir Starmer's response.

08:27, Tue, Apr 14, 2026 Updated: 08:30, Tue, Apr 14, 2026

Putin-Ukraine-war-Starmer

Vladimir Putin is preparing for war while Keir Starmer dithers (Image: Getty)

The Ukraine war is a bloodbath, with Putin feeding Russian soldiers into the meat grinder. Since the invasion began, more than one million Russian troops have been killed or wounded. Originally the invasion looked like a throwback, led by Russian tanks, trucks, aircraft and massed troops. Ukraine answered with artillery, rockets and anti-tank weapons. Since then the war has delivered a tactical revolution. Volodymyr Zelensky's "kill-zone" strategy has stalled the Russian advance with a layered defence of mines, sensors, robotics and of course drones.

Whatever the outcome, this war will be remembered for the rise of the drone. Videos of doomed soldiers hunted by drones have gone viral. Once an operator locks onto you, it’s effectively game over. A drone carrying an explosive charge has an 80% chance of hitting a target in the open. They’re not just more precise than artillery, they’re vastly cheaper. Russia was slow to grasp this. It isn’t anymore.

During the Cold War, NATO feared waves of Soviet tanks rolling into Western Europe. That threat has mutated, but our response hasn't. Tomorrow’s battlefield won’t be dominated by armour, but by swarms of first person view (FPV) kamikaze drones. Cheap, expendable and increasingly autonomous.

Putin has adapted too, in his usual ruthless fashion. He's drawn up a chilling plan to take the drone threat to the West, by recruiting the next generation of Russian children to direct a terrifying drone army.

Russia plans to train one million drone specialists by 2030. Many are still at school. Others are in youth groups and technical institutes, learning to build and pilot drones as part of a mass mobilisation effort. This is a long-term, systemic preparation for conflict. And it comes at a time when Russian media is threatening to turn its weapons on us.

War always accelerates technology. The First World War reshaped combat with tanks, machine guns and aircraft. The Second delivered radar, codebreaking, jet engines and the atomic bomb. Each time, innovation decided who won, and who lost.

Our military understands the threat. It knows we must adapt. Yet as the Iran war has shown, we're nowhere near ready. We struggle to deploy a single fully operational destroyer, let alone keep it at sea. So what’s Keir Starmer doing?

"Spineless" Starmer constantly bragging about keeping us out of the Iran war, while falsely claiming he's put Britain on a "war footing". But he isn't. Not at all. The long-promised Defence Investment Plan, due last autumn, still hasn’t appeared. That plan is supposed to set out what ships, tanks, aircraft and drones we will procure over the next decade. War moves fast. Starmer slithers like a snail.

We need serious investment of at least £28 billion to meet the scale of the threat, but Labour divisions have stalled all progress.

Exclusive defence news and analysis from our experts and more Invalid email

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. Read our Privacy Policy

Whitehall decision-making is clogged up like a Russian tank unit in Donetsk mud. Now Starmer has added another layer of dysfunction, right at the top. The man cannot make a decision. His instinct is always the same: convene a committee, then another, then wait. If he's feeling particularly dynamic, he might issue a press release. Which won't stop a single drone.

While Starmer dithers, Russia is preparing for the next war at speed. And every day we waste, his killer drone army only gets stronger.