Carlos FresnedaLondon Correspondent

London Correspondent

Updated Thursday, January 25, 2024-16:51

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General Sir Patrick Sanders, Chief of Staff of the British Army, has stated that the United Kingdom

should "train and equip a citizens' army"

in the event of a direct conflict with Russia.

Sources from the Department of Defense assured

The Times

newspaper that the so-called

Operation Interflex

, which has served to militarily train

30,000 Ukrainian civilians on British soil

, is being "a very useful lesson" for the future.

"We are observing that much of what we are doing could be a rehearsal for the creation of a second link in the army," added the aforementioned sources, in reference to what is already

considered the largest military training operation

for civilians since the Second World War. World War.


General Patrick Sanders estimates that the United Kingdom

could have an additional force of 120,000 troops in three years

, to add to the army's 172,400 soldiers and reservists.

His intervention at the International Armored Vehicle Conference in Twickenham has sparked a debate

about the need to prepare and mobilize

the civilian population in the face of a war.

Strategic reserve


Sanders has also suggested creating a "strategic reserve" made up of former soldiers that can be used

to prepare civilians

while active soldiers are on the front lines.

This would create, in his opinion, "a second link ready to play a vital role in times of crisis or national emergency."


General Sanders, who will leave his post as chief of staff in six months, has recently been highly critical of the administration's plans to reduce troop numbers.

According to

The Times , Downing Street has maintained

tense relations with senior military commanders

in recent months

due to his statements to the media.


The Secretary of State for the Armed Forces James Heappey has assured for his part, in a Geostrategy Council podcast, that a combined force of 500,000 soldiers and civilians would be needed to win a war.


"Where are we going to get our second link?" Heappey openly asked on the podcast.

"What is the UK's route going to be to get half a million men and women in arms?"


Despite growing pressure from the Ministry of Defence, the British Government is not currently considering

any measure to mobilize the population

or reintroduce compulsory military service.

In Ukraine, men between 27 and 60 years old without military experience can be compulsorily conscripted to fight against the Russian army.