Speaking at a shipyard in Govan, Glasgow, Mr. Starmer declared: "We are transitioning to a combat readiness state", emphasizing that the UK's defense policy will always prioritize NATO.
The strategy is part of a new Strategic Defense Assessment released by the UK government, including an expanded arms arms program to reflect the same efforts underway within NATO.
According to British Defense Minister John Healey, pouring billions of pounds into ammunition factories, long-range missile systems and other capabilities is a message to Moscow.
Prime Minister Starmer pledged to turn the UK into a combat- ready, armed country, possessing the strongest alliance and the most advanced capabilities, equipped for the coming decades.
He affirmed that military reform will help the UK make the largest contribution to NATO since its inception, while making the country the fastest innovator in NATO with defense research activities reaching the crisis-time pace.
The UK government aims to increase defense spending to 3% of GDP. The effort would replace the so-called " peaceful exchange" in the post-Cold War with a "defense exchange", and create thousands of new jobs in the arms industry, including the production of nuclear weapons, Starmer said.
The British Prime Minister accused Russia of threatening the UK, demonstrating hunting in its sovereign waters, and raising living expenses for its people, directly affecting domestic workers.
On the Russian side, lawmaker Aleksey Pushkov criticized the UK plan as a preparation for an ice conflict with Russia. He said there was no difference between the Labor Party and the Conservative Party in their approach to Russia.
Referring to Mr. Starmer's commitment to building more nuclear subscribers, Mr. Pushkov said that these investments cannot help the UK match Russia, the US or China. However, according to him, Mr. Starmer needs those projects to prove their "success" with domestic and foreign partners who can benefit financially from this program.
