Britons 'could be called up to fight' in war with Russia, warns Army chief

British citizens should be prepared to be called up to fight should the UK go to war with Russia, the head of the Army has warned.

General Sir Patrick Sanders will express concerns over the size of the military and Britain's readiness to fight in a speech at the International Armoured Vehicles exhibition in Twickenham on Wednesday.

Having previously been "openly critical of servicemen cuts", General Sanders will urge the government to get men and women "prepared for a call-up to fight", should Russia's war with Ukraine escalate to involve Nato, said The Times.

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It is understood the general "would not support conscription", but wants British people to "think more like troops" and be "mentally prepared" for war with Russia, said The Telegraph. 

Any introduction of conscription "would be the first time in over 60 years that Brits would be required to fight", said The Sun. "Mandatory military service was introduced during the First World War after the government passed the Military Service Act in 1916."

General Sanders, due to step down from his role in the next six months, has previously said that Britain was facing a "1937 moment" in the Russia/Ukraine conflict. His "withering assessment" comes after a Nato official said that "the West faces all-out war with Moscow within the next two decades", said the Daily Mail.

There are also ongoing fears from American and European generals that Britain is "no longer a top-level fighting force", according to an investigation in The Times.

Elsewhere, Sweden, which is preparing to join Nato this year, has also warned its citizens they could soon be fighting in an all-out war.

Defence minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin said: "The world is facing a security outlook with greater risks than at any time since the end of the Second World War.

"Are you a private individual? Have you considered whether you have time to join a voluntary defence organisation? If not: get moving!"