Major Mike Shearer wants Sir Keir Starmer to prepare for the worst-case scenario with regard to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The Prime Minister will be jetting to Washington for talks with President Trump and other Western leaders.
It comes after the US President breached unspoken protocol by holding a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Speaking on GB News, the former British Army spokesman said the response from Western nations to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been below standard and it must ramp up its war efforts.
Major Mike Shearer hit out at the West's response
|GB NEWS / PA
“If you want peace, prepare for war”, he said.
“The playbook is there for all of us to see. Over the last 106 years, Russia has invaded 22 countries, some of them more than once.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
- 'Stay tuned!' Donald Trump hints at major Ukraine breakthrough after Vladimir Putin meeting
- Labour MP grilled over ‘personal’ attacks on Nigel Farage as Angela Rayner takes aim
- Keir Starmer heads to White House for crunch Ukraine talks with Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky
“Their longest period of stability has been 16 years. Why the statesmanship of the West has been so poor when these facts are well known is beyond me. The UK needs to have a national discussion about our national resilience or lack thereof. We need to spend money now.
“We need to reconstitute some of our own armoured infantry regiments and prepare post-haste and we need to do it now.”
Mike Shearer joined Nana Akua on GB News
|GB NEWS
Asked how the West has “failed” Ukraine, he said: “I have to say the United Kingdom and United States particularly has.
“We were signatories with Russia in the 1994 Budapest Security Memorandum that said ‘get rid of your tactical nuclear weapons and we will provide reassurance for your security and sovereignty’.
“Who was the other signatory? Russia. It’s laughable. We should be ashamed of ourselves.”
The Prime Minister is travelling to Washington to participate in a crucial meeting at the White House between Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelensky and key European allies.
Vladimir Putin shaking hands with Donald Trump in Alaska | GETTYKeir Starmer will be accompanied by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for the Oval Office discussions.
The gathering comes after President Trump's summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday failed to produce a peace agreement.
Number 10 has confirmed the Prime Minister's attendance at the meeting, which represents the latest diplomatic effort to resolve the Ukraine conflict.
Reports indicate that Putin insisted on retaining control of territories in eastern Ukraine during the Alaska negotiations, which ultimately prevented any breakthrough.
The Russian president's territorial demands emerged as a major obstacle during Friday's summit, leading to the talks concluding without any peace agreement being reached.
On Saturday, Starmer commended Trump's diplomatic efforts, stating that the president had "brought us closer than ever before to ending Russia's illegal war in Ukraine".
The Prime Minister emphasised that future negotiations must involve "further talks involving President Zelensky" and pledged that Britain would "keep tightening the screws on [Putin's] war machine with even more sanctions" until the "barbaric assault" concludes.
Later this afternoon, European leaders will convene virtually to explore potential security arrangements for Ukraine should a peace deal materialise, forming what they describe as a 'Coalition of the Willing'.
European capitals are optimistic that Washington will participate in safeguarding Ukraine against potential future Russian threats.