UK must be 'on guard for war' with Russia amid migrant tension, says British Defence Chief

Keeping an eye on the recent tensions in eastern Europe, outgoing head of British armed forces, General Sir Nicholas Carter warned that the military must be 'on guard for war' with Russia. While he 'distinctly hoped' that Moscow would refrain from engaging in a physical war, but North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) must be ready. Speaking at an interview with a British broadcaster on the Poland-Belarus border crisis, he stated that Russian was now a greater threat than it was eight years ago, the Irish Times reported.

Shedding light on the standoff between Poland, Belarus and the role of Russia in massing troops along the border with Ukraine, General Carter also highlighted that NATO must be ready even though he did not believe Russian President Vladimir Putin might want to engage in "hot war" with the West. The outgoing General's assertions come a day after UK's foreign secretary, Liz Truss urged Putin to intervene in the shameful manufactured migrant crisis" reaching harrowing levels at the eastern European borders.

EU accuses Belarus of 'trafficking' migrants

Following the increased influx of undocumented migrants along the eastern borders of Poland, the European Union (EU) on November 10 accused Belarus of sponsoring "trafficking" of human lives with false promises. A spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Steffen Seibert on Wednesday stated that Minsk is engaged in "state-run smuggling and trafficking...100% at the expense of the people who are lured into the country with false promises," the Associated Press reported. Siebert's remarks come after Merkel engaged in a phonic conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, asking him to "exert his influence" on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko as "people are being used" in the country.

"Hostile Conduct"

EU's accusations come a day after Poland Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki lambasted Putin, blaming him for orchestrating an attack with a wave of migrants. Calling it a part of a "bigger operation," PM Morawiecki stated that he was convinced of a potential coordinated attack...or a new kind of war, in which people are used as living shields." He also alleged that Belarus is being helped by the "enabler" Putin with a "special purpose of destabilising the situation in the EU," in what is described as "hostile conduct" by Warsaw.

With inputs from AP

Image: AP