Overview

• The UK government has announced £500 million in defence cuts, decommissioning warships, helicopters, and drones to address financial pressures.
• Critics, including former military leaders and opposition MPs, argue the cuts weaken the UK's defence capabilities at a time of escalating global tensions.
• Ukraine used British-made Storm Shadow missiles to strike a Russian military site in Kursk, marking the first confirmed use of these weapons inside Russia.
• The cuts come as the Ministry of Defence prepares a strategic defence review, with further reductions in military spending expected in the future.
• Defence Secretary John Healey justified the cuts as necessary to modernize the armed forces, but concerns remain over the lack of immediate replacements for decommissioned equipment.