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Starmer deploys more warships warning ‘Europe must be ready to fight Russia’

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Europe must be ready to fight against Russia as Putin continues his bombardment in Ukraine, Sir Keir Starmer told the Munich Security Conference.

The Prime Minister said: ‘Now we feel the solidity of peace, the very ground that we stand on softening under our feet.

‘It’s the job of leaders to be ahead of these seismic shapes, yet that is against the grain of history.’

He said leaders must not dither as ‘Russia has proved its appetite for aggression’.

He continued that after a peace deal for Ukraine, ‘Russia’s rearmament would only accelerate’ and ‘we must answer this threat in full’.

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‘To break the convention of a thousand speeches, we are not at a crossroads.

HMS Prince of Wales enters Portsmouth harbour after her eight month deployment today (30/11/2025). Britain?s premier naval deployment of 2025 ends this weekend as the ships, jets and helicopters of the UK Carrier Strike Group returns home. Families and well-wishers are expected to gather at air and naval bases from the Lizard Peninsula to Norfolk to greet more than 2,000 military personnel ? sailors, soldiers, aviators, Royal Marines, and civilians ? back from their eight-month mission to the Indo-Pacific. The Strike Group has been led by the nation?s flagship HMS Prince of Wales, which sails into Portsmouth on Sunday afternoon accompanied by two of her escorts: destroyer HMS Dauntless and Norwegian frigate HNoMS Roald Amundsen. A third escort, frigate HMS Richmond, is returning to Plymouth, while the force?s aircraft have already flown ? or are flying ? home to their respective air bases: F-35B Lightning stealth fighters to RAF Marham in Norfolk, Merlin helicopters to RNAS Culdrose near Helston and RNAS Yeovilton in Somerset, and Wildcat helicopters to Yeovilton as well. Tanker RFA Tideforce, which supported the final month of the deployment, is returning to Portland, while her sister ship RFA Tidespring, which provided fuel for the force through three-quarters of the Highmast mission, remains deployed. In addition, Norway?s HNoMS Maud performed tanker duties during the opening weeks. The arrivals bring to an end the UK Carrier Strike Group?s 2025 mission, codenamed Operation Highmast, which took the force as far east as Japan and Australia. The strike group returns having been declared fully operational ? and ready to assume NATO duties. *** Local Caption ***
Keir Starmer has committed to sending the HMS Prince of Wales to the Arctic (Picture: UK MOD Crown copyright)
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaking during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany. Picture date: Saturday February 14, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaking during the Munich Security Conference (Picture: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire)

‘The road ahead is straight and it is clear. We must build our hard power, because that is the currency of the age.

‘We must be able to deter aggression, and, yes, if necessary, we must be ready to fight.’

He also announced the UK will deploy its carrier strike group to the North Atlantic and High North region this year.

It will be led by the HMS Prince of Wales, ‘operating alongside the US, Canada and other NATO allies’.

He said: ‘It is a powerful show of our commitment to Euro-Atlantic security,” he adds.

‘That is also why we’re enhancing our nuclear cooperation with France. For decades, the United Kingdom has been the only nuclear power in Europe to commit its deterrent to protect all NATO members.’

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