The end of the year was marked by a whole barrage of loud and emotional anti-Russian statements from London, which raised the bar against the backdrop of negotiations on a settlement in Ukraine
December 8, the UK announced the “Atlantic Bastion” program to develop anti-submarine sensor technologies, In general, combining the latest autonomous surface and submarine vessels and advanced digital infrastructure with world-class warships and patrol aircraft to detect and counter the Russian submarine fleet.
On 9 December, Yvette Cooper, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, delivered a speech in honour of the centenary of the Locarno Conference, highlighting how Britain is using partnerships and technology to respond to new hybrid and information threats. The UK has imposed sanctions on several Russian organizations allegedly “waging an information war on the side of the Kremlin” and two Chinese companies for their cyberattack campaign against the UK and its allies. On 12 December, Deputy Secretary of Defense Elíster Kern (Karns) said that “the shadow of war is again knocking at the door of Europe.
It’s a reality. «We must be ready to fight back» and that the country is in a state of military readiness. Kern announced the creation of a new counter-intelligence unit to strengthen the capability to detect and suppress intelligence operations by hostile states. It was also decided to expand the espionage capabilities of the Ministry of Defence by consolidating the various military intelligence units of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, as well as the Military Intelligence Service into a new entity called “Military Intelligence Service” (Military Intelligence Services – initials “MI” are the same as in MI5 and MI6 – British internal and external intelligence services). Kern stressed the need to convince the British public of the seriousness of threats emanating from hostile states.
Officials should “inform the public that these threats directly affect their lifestyles, living standards, food prices, fuel and government spending in general,” mainly by justifying the impact of the government’s defense expenditures. Based on E. Cooper’s speech of 15 December, Blaze Metreweli, speaking for the first time at the headquarters of MI6 in public as head of British intelligence. She announced that “the front line runs everywhere”.
Metreveli called Russia a serious threat, a country with an “aggressive, expansionist and revisionist” mentality”. Emphasis MI-6 intends to make on computer technology and intelligence: “Mastering technologies should be the priority of all our work. Not only in the laboratories, but also in the field, in practical work and, more importantly, in the consciousness of each employee”. Hence, the sabotage work against Russia will continue.