European leader urges UK to begin mandatory military service

'I recommend this in many aspects'

Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine at the start of 2022, the threat Putin poses to western Europe has loomed large over the nations closest to Russia.

In recent weeks, nations such as Norway and Denmark have announced they are extending conscription, whilst Latvia and Sweden have both recently reintroduced military service.

In Estonia, conscription has been compulsory since the early 1990s. This week, the country's prime minister said she would "recommend" that the UK introduce mandatory military service.

Kaja Kallas, who has been prime minister of Estonia since 2021, told the BBC that conscription would be key in both providing a deterrence to Russia and meaning that the UK is better prepared to defend itself in the eventuality of any attack.

She said: "We have a reserve army of 44,000 people that would equal, for Great Britain, around two million people. Two million people who are ready to defend their country and know what they have to do."

When asked if Britain should introduce conscription, Kallas said: "Of course, every country decides for themselves, we are all democracies, but I recommend this in many aspects."

This isn't the first time that the topic of mandatory military service in the UK has made headlines.

Earlier this year, a senior British Army officer warned the government that the armed forces are ‘too small’ and that they will need to ‘mobilise’ the public if the country goes to war.

This was followed by warnings that Brits should prepare for conscription “within six years” if the threat of Putin’s Russia doesn’t go away.

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