UK may already be at war with Russia, former head of MI5 says

'It’s a different sort of war'

Tensions between Western nations like the UK, Germany and the USA and Russia had been steadily increasing over the past decade before they reached a head following Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

In the three years since, Putin's nation have been isolated from their counterparts on the international stage, and heavy economic sanctions have been imposed.

Despite the UK providing billions in economic and military support for Ukraine, there has not been an official declaration of war between Russia and Britain yet.

However, as revealed in a new interview with Lord Speaker John McFall, the former head of British spy agency MI5 Eliza Manningham-Buller has suggested that Russia and the west may be at war with other unofficially.

Lady Manningham-Buller led MI5 over 20 years ago, and made the suggestions in a podcast on Monday (29 September).

Manningham-Buller said: “I think she may be right in saying we’re already at war with Russia. It’s a different sort of war, but the hostility, the cyber-attacks, the physical attacks, the intelligence work is extensive.”

The comments come after reports back in May that six Bulgarians were jailed for their involvement in a Russian spy ring.

Manningham-Buller says she first met Putin in 2005, during a period in which many in Europe were hoping to build peaceful cooperation between the West and Russia after decades of cold war tension.

She added: "I didn’t anticipate that within a year he’d be ordering the murder on London streets of [Alexander] Litvinenko, but I thought he was quite an unpleasant man.”

Litvinenko was a former Russian spy who lived in London and was poisoned radioactive polonium.

An inquiry found that two Russian agents killed him and that they were "probably acting" on Putin’s orders.

The UK continues to support Ukraine's resistance to Russian attacks, and has provided £21.8 billion worth of aid to date.

Despite prolonged talks between Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump, no agreement to end the war has been reached yet.