Charles Carr

interested in rugby, Serco, armed forces (especially @Gunners) and Help4heroes and all views my own.

[Deborah Haynes @haynesdeborah]

Extraordinarily - and this seems to demonstrate a complete disregard of the seriousness of defence at the heart of government - John Healey was only told what the offer was for additional defence funding on Monday afternoon.

I am told Number 10 then tried to rush and publish the Defence Investment Plan on Thursday.

Then a handbrake was applied by Mr Healey and his military chiefs. The (now ex) defence secretary made clear that racing to release the blueprint without a settlement that had been accepted by him and his team would be a risk for defence and for its soldiers, sailors and aviators.

You can only imagine the tone of the exchange that must have taken place - and I know that people were in the MOD until very late last night.

But John Healey firmly believes the settlement was inadequate and, if left unchallenged, would not enable the UK to keep the country safe or meet its international commitments - such as help defend Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire with Russia.

A key detail is that Mr Healey believes defence spending must be increased to 3% of GDP by 2030, up from 2.3% now. This would guarantee tens of billions of additional pounds for defence.

But - despite the stakes and the position of the defence secretary - the Prime Minister and Chancellor agreed just to inch it up to 2.68% of GDP within that time frame, after hitting a new target of 2.6% next year (which is already being inflated by lumping in the 0.1% that is spent on the intelligence agencies).

Utterly incredible.

What must our allies and our adversaries be thinking, let alone everyone in the UK armed forces and, frankly, everyone in our country?

We all rely on a secure UK to live, work, go to school, enjoy holidays, access healthcare, spend time with friends and families.

This is not a divine right. It happens because we have security - something that might not be apparent until or unless it is compromised...

[NOELREPORTS 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 @NOELreports]

SitRep - 23/05/26 - Ukraine destroying Russia's rear

An overview of the daily events in Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Drones are targeting Russian logistics and bases across all occupied and Russian territories. Russians have nowhere to hide anymore.

REPOST=appreciated

1/X

[Charles Carr @Charlescarr]

@stephenjones9 Just read your ST piece and broadly agree. We have the Shot clock, so how about introducing the TMO timer and limit the officials to say 60 seconds…

[John Evely @JohnEvely_BPost]

JvG shares his immense frustration at missed high tackles during Bath’s defeat to Bordeaux-Begles

[Paul Hayward @_PaulHayward]

Neil Kinnock on Brexit, in @ObserverUK...

[Charles Carr @Charlescarr]

@nicholadrummond Well said.

[Institute for the Study of War @TheStudyofWar]

MORE: Russian forces are unlikely to seize Ukraine’s Fortress Belt in 2026. The Kremlin knows that Russian forces’ seizure of the Fortress Belt on the battlefield is not inevitable and is therefore demanding that Ukraine cede the unoccupied parts of Donetsk Oblast. The Kremlin seeks such a concession to save Russia the personnel and materiel resources and to put Russia in a more advantageous position to possibly re-invade in the future.

[Charles Carr @Charlescarr]

@nicholadrummond @FXMC1957 I served in 50 Missile Regt, RA, based in Menden in Germany and equipped with Lance

[Defense of Ukraine @DefenceU]

We can help you fight against Shaheds.
Help us fight against ballistic missiles.

[Brian Allen @allenanalysis]

🚨 The US is now deploying Ukrainian drone interceptors to fight Iranian drones in the Middle East.
Let that sink in.

The administration that cut off Ukraine’s weapons. That humiliated Zelensky in the Oval Office. That called him a dictator.

Is now using Ukrainian technology to survive a war they started with no plan.

Here’s the math Iran figured out:

US Patriot missile: $4 million.
Iranian Shahad drone: $35,000.

Iran is flooding the zone with cheap drones until the Gulf states run out of expensive counter-munitions. It’s the same strategy they used against Russia — and Ukraine has been fighting it 250-350 drones at a time, 4-5 days a week, for two years.

Ukraine’s interceptor costs $3,000 each.

The most powerful military on earth is now dependent on a $3,000 Ukrainian quad-copter to survive an illegal war built on a 30-year-old lie.

Zelensky didn’t need us.

We needed him.

[Charles Carr @Charlescarr]

@UKDefJournal I had a concept drawing done and published of a naval used Typhoon when I was at @eurofighter way back in 1999! Looks pretty similar + thrust vectoring.

[Vatnik Soup @P_Kallioniemi]

Finnish reservists humiliated American soldiers in winter warfare at a NATO military exercise in Norway.

The organizers had to ask the Finns to back off because it was "humiliating and demoralizing" for the Americans.

Maybe it's better if the Nordics take care of Greenland.

[🪖MilitaryNewsUA🇺🇦 @front_ukrainian]

❗️“For what purpose did 34,000 Russian soldiers die in December, just to claim that they captured Kupiansk, even though they didn’t?” — President of Finland, Stubb.

“Have faith, Ukraine is going to win this war.”

[ClarksonsFarm @ClarksonsFarm1]

Repost if you agree!

[Andrew Marr @AndrewMarr9]

This be true

[Daractenus @Daractenus]

In just 4 years, he's lost all influence in Syria and Venezuela, with Iran to follow. Had over a million Russians killed or wounded in idiotic assaults that achieved nothing and brought the economy on the brink of implosion.

He's no cunning strategist, he's just a murderer.

[MAGA Cult Slayer @MAGACult2]

Former President of Poland Lech Walesa wrote the following letter to Trump.

Your Excellency, Mr. President,

We watched the report of your conversation with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, with fear and distaste. We find it insulting that you expect Ukraine to show respect and gratitude for the material assistance provided by the United States in its fight against russia. Gratitude is owed to the heroic Ukrainian soldiers who shed their blood in defense of the values of the free world. They have been dying on the front lines for more than 11 years in the name of these values and the independence of their homeland, which was attacked by Putin’s russia.

We do not understand how the leader of a country that symbolizes the free world cannot recognize this.

Our alarm was also heightened by the atmosphere in the Oval Office during this conversation, which reminded us of the interrogations we endured at the hands of the Security Services and the debates in Communist courts. Prosecutors and judges, acting on behalf of the all-powerful communist political police, would explain to us that they held all the power while we held none. They demanded that we cease our activities, arguing that thousands of innocent people suffered because of us. They stripped us of our freedoms and civil rights because we refused to cooperate with the government or express gratitude for our oppression. We are shocked that President Volodymyr Zelensky was treated in the same manner.

The history of the 20th century shows that whenever the United States sought to distance itself from democratic values and its European allies, it ultimately became a threat to itself. President Woodrow Wilson understood this when he decided in 1917 that the United States must join World War I. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt understood this when, after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, he resolved that the war to defend America must be fought not only in the Pacific but also in Europe, in alliance with the nations under attack by the Third Reich.

We remember that without President Ronald Reagan and America’s financial commitment, the collapse of the Soviet empire would not have been possible. President Reagan recognized that millions of enslaved people suffered in Soviet russia and the countries it had subjugated, including thousands of political prisoners who paid for their defense of democratic values with their freedom. His greatness lay, among other things, in his unwavering decision to call the USSR an “Empire of Evil” and to fight it decisively. We won, and today, the statue of President Ronald Reagan stands in Warsaw, facing the U.S. Embassy.

Mr. President, material aid—military and financial—can never be equated with the blood shed in the name of Ukraine’s independence and the freedom of Europe and the entire free world. Human life is priceless; its value cannot be measured in money. Gratitude is due to those who sacrifice their blood and their freedom. This is self-evident to us, the people of Solidarity, former political prisoners of the communist regime under Soviet russia.

We call on the United States to uphold the guarantees made alongside Great Britain in the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, which established a direct obligation to defend Ukraine’s territorial integrity in exchange for its relinquishment of nuclear weapons. These guarantees are unconditional—there is no mention of treating such assistance as an economic transaction.

Signed,

Lech Wałęsa, former political prisoner, President of Poland

[💙Brittney💙 @AZ_Brittney]

Who Agrees? 🖐️

[British Army 🇬🇧 @BritishArmy]

While many of us gather with loved ones at Christmas, our soldiers remain on duty across the globe. From ceremonial duties at home to overseas deployments, the British Army serves with dedication every day of the year 🌍

Wishing all of our personnel and their families a happy and peaceful Christmas 🎄

#BritishArmy #MerryChristmas

[John Cleese @JohnCleese]

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.