Europe is at 'serious risk' of war with Russia, Government defence adviser tells LBC

General Richard Barrons told LBC's Tonight with Andrew Marr that this "could become a war in the way that our predecessors in the last century knew."

The comments come after NATO's chief Mark Rutte said on Thursday that member states of the alliance are "Russia's next target."

Mr Rutte said NATO is firmly in the Kremlin's sights as he suggested we could be heading for war on a scale not seen since the 1940s.

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Asked by Andrew if he agreed with the suggested threat made by Mr Rutte, General Barrons, co-author of the Strategic Defence Review, said: "I think this is serious.

"I don't think it's necessarily the outcome, but it is a serious risk.

"The SDR set out that we live in an era of state confrontation and potentially conflict. And for Europe, the issue today is Russia.

"If Russia is handled well, there is no need for a war. If Russia is handled badly or there's miscalculation or an excess of ambition, yes, this could become a war in the way that our predecessors in the last century knew it."

NATO chief Mr Rutte said Europe must be ready for war on the scale endured by "our grandparents or great-grandparents."

The threats come as Russia told the UK it must disclose every member of the British armed forces currently active in Ukraine following the death of a soldier last week.

General Barrons said: "I think the greater risk to the UK and other countries in Europe is to the resilience of our daily life.

"So, Russian intrusion in our cyberspace, in the manipulation of social media, in the sort of sabotage we've seen of efforts to support Ukraine.

"It's clear that below the threshold of military conflict every single day, Europe is being attacked by Russia. This is rarely above the level of disruption, but we need to understand that if it was amplified and we couldn't do anything about it, it could bring our daily lives to a halt.

"That's the first risk. The second risk is perhaps on the back of an outcome in Ukraine, there is a real risk of military conflict with Russia, between European Nato, and we must recognise this as European Nato, with the certainty of much less US support."

Efforts to agree a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine have stalled amid rising tensions and Donald Trump has reportedly demanded that Ukraine agree a peace deal with Russia by Christmas.

He recently launched a furious tirade against President Zelenskyy - telling him to "get his act together."

When asked by Andrew what the US's alleged step back from Nato will mean for Western European countries, General Barrons said it is "now in Europe's hands to provide Ukraine with the means."

He added: "Secondly, when this war cumulates, and it will at some point, it will be Europe that buttresses Ukrainian deterrence, so that it is impossible for Russia to think of restarting the war in Ukraine.

"Thirdly, that the rest of Europe is not going to be an open door to Russia just because we're focused on Ukraine. Those three things are now inescapable."