According to British Chief of Staff Tony Radakin, speculation about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s poor health is wishful thinking. “Some of the comments that he’s not well or that someone will surely murder him or take him out are wishful thinking, I think,” Radakin told the BBC on Sunday.
As professional military officers, he and his colleagues see “a relatively stable regime in Russia”. Kremlin chief Putin managed to “suppress any opposition,” said Radakin. “No one at the top has the motivation to challenge President Putin.”
Speaking about the Ukraine war, the chief of staff said Russia’s ground forces may now pose less of a threat after setbacks in Ukraine. But Russia is “still a nuclear power,” said Radakin.
The country also has “cyber skills, space skills and special underwater programs”. These programs could threaten the undersea cables that carry data across continents, the chief of staff said.
Britain’s next Prime Minister must be aware that Russia is currently the “greatest threat” to the UK and will remain a challenge for decades to come.
The war in Ukraine will be the dominant topic at the military briefings for the successor to outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Radakin said. Then “we must remind the Prime Minister of the extraordinary responsibility” he has at the helm of Britain’s nuclear power.