Britain’s armed forces are ready to fight the Russian army “tonight” if Vladimir Putin invades another eastern European state, Britain’s top military chief said on Thursday.

“If the British military were asked to fight tonight, they would fight tonight,” Rob Magowan, the deputy chief of the British defense staff, told the House of Commons defense committee. “I don’t think anyone in this room should be under any illusion that if the Russians invaded Eastern Europe tonight, then we would meet them in this match.”

His comments came as MPs asked Magowan on Thursday how many British brigades could reach NATO’s eastern flank in the event of a major escalation by Russia.

Eastern European NATO members, including Latvia and Estonia, have expressed dismay at Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, while Finland, which borders Russia to its east, this week warned of sabotage of critical infrastructure. NATO’s rules on collective defense state that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all.

Despite Magowan’s assurances, concerns remain about Britain’s military capability in the event of a European escalation.

Britain’s army is at its smallest size since 1700. Just last month, Defense Secretary John Healy told POLITICO that the state of the armed forces was “much worse than we thought” after taking office. from the Labor Party in the summer.

Healey announced on Wednesday afternoon that the UK is scrapping five warships and a dozen military helicopters and drones as part of a cost-cutting programme. Britain is currently conducting a Strategic Defense Review.

Russian ambassador to Britain: Now you are “directly” involved in the Ukraine war

Further inflaming the mood was a statement from the Russian ambassador in London, who said Britain was now “directly” involved in the Ukraine war after Storm Shadow missiles were used to strike targets inside Russia.

According to Britain’s Sky News, the Russian ambassador, Andrei Kelin, also accused Ukraine of using mercenaries from different countries in the fighting.

The escalation comes after Western allies green-lighted this week the use of long-range missiles from Ukraine to strike deep into Russia after months of pleas from Kiev.

British Storm Shadow missiles were fired into Russia from Ukraine just days after US President Joe Biden endorsed the same policy change.

In the wake of the developments, Kellin, asked if the move had drawn Britain into the war, said: “Absolutely, Britain and the United Kingdom are now directly involved in this war because the launch of the missiles cannot happen without the NATO personnel, British personnel as well.”

Asked what the difference was between that and Russia using Chinese, Iranian and North Korean equipment, technology and manpower – and whether they are directly involved as well – Kelin instead referred to “foreign fighters from the Ukrainian side”.

“In this matter, I can easily say that we have many mercenaries from various countries who are currently fighting on the side of Ukraine,” he said.

Kelin continued that “we just saw in the Kursk region a Polish unit, which has a special uniform that Polish soldiers wear. So what’s going on?’

Until this week, it was known that British tanks, anti-tank missiles and other military equipment could be used in Russia, but Britain had maintained restrictions on long-range missiles, echoing American policy.