London, Thanasis Gavos

The British government rates the probability of Russia attacking an allied country within the next two years at at least 25%, according to an official risk forecast highlighted by the Daily Telegraph.

The National Threat Register document prepared by the Cabinet Office warns of the possibility of a British military response being needed due to possible new Russian hostile actions against a non-NATO country with which the UK maintains a mutual security agreement. – like mainly Sweden.

However, the risk scenarios do not even exclude an invasion of the Russian army into a NATO member country, which would signal a generalized conflict between the West and Russia.

The news comes just days after the head of the British armed forces, General Sir Patrick Sanders, said that to meet the demands of a direct engagement war, Britain would have to “train and equip” thousands of civilians in a large-scale conscription to strengthen the regular army.

Sanders’ statement sparked a public debate about the adequacy of Britain’s armed forces, which have seen their manpower dwindle in recent years.

A Downing Street spokesman was forced to confirm that there were “no plans” for compulsory civilian conscription and that hypothetical scenarios were of no use.

Undersecretary for Defense James Hippie pointed out that Britain had a track record of mobilizing volunteers in times of need, but also said that “no one is thinking” about the possibility of conscription