A former British general has warned the country would run out of ammo if war was declared against Russia because of years of government cutbacks.
General Sir Richard Barrons issued the dire warning just days after defence secretary Ben Wallace said the country’s military had been ‘hollowed out’.
He warned the Army needs £3 billion more a year to rejoin Nato’s top tier.
But the Ministry of Defence (MoD) pledged it was spending an extra £560 million to boost ammo stockpiles.
In a column for The Sun, General Barrons wrote: ‘This is truly shocking. But it is true. And we must fix it.
‘The UK spends more on defence than any EU ally and our brave Armed Forces have long been one of Britain’s most influential levers around the world.
‘Yet for decades they have been hollowed out by spending cuts.’
Mr Wallace warned military spending may have to rise for two decades because of global threats.
Former prime minister Boris Johnson has urged the government to send fighter jets to Ukraine’s frontline.
But Mr Wallace warned even if he decided to send jets, the process takes ‘months’ and there is ‘no magic wand’.
In better news, Ukrainian soldiers will begin training and using Challenger 2 tanks which the UK has sent over to the country.
They will arrive in Ukraine by the end of next month and could prove to be a turning point in the war.
Germany also confirmed it would send Leopard 2 tanks to the battlefield, with the US set to send 31 Abrams tanks.
It is the first time German tanks will be used on a European battlefield since World War Two.
But tanks from Germany and the US could take months even years to reach Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin is also set to unleash new hypersonic missiles – capable of reaching speeds of over 6,600mph.
The ‘unstoppable’ Zircon missiles will be test-fired from a frigate during naval exercises off the coast of Africa.
They will be aimed at a surface target at a distance of more than 310 miles and is the latest show of strength from the Russian dictator.
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