Keir Starmer has been warned he must pump billions of pounds into drones and shells so Britain is ready to face down Russia.
The PM is being urged to focus on capabilities that can be delivered quickly as the government tries to finalise the strategic defence review.
The process – due to be completed this spring – has been given fresh impetus amid mounting concern about Donald Trump ripping up decades of Western alliances.
With the US withdrawing aid to Ukraine and distancing from Nato, military chiefs from a so-called ‘coalition of the willing’ are due to meet in Paris later.
French officials are expecting 30 countries to participate in the gathering to assemble a force that could enforce any peace deal with Russia.
Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin will attend for the UK, with Defence Secretary John Healey joining counterparts from France, Germany, Italy and Poland in Paris tomorrow.
Sir Keir has declared that the UK will ramp up defence spending from 2.3 per cent to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027 – equivalent to an extra £6billlion in real terms – acknowledging that the world must adjust to a new era of hard power.
However, there is huge pressure to go further with fears that the British military has been ‘hollowed out’ during years of relative peace.
Keir Starmer has been warned he must pump billions of pounds into drones and shells so Britain is ready to face down Russia
Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Saudi Arabia last night for a planned meeting with the crown prince and de facto ruler of the country Mohammed bin Salman, although for protocol reasons he is not expected to take part in the US talks directly
Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin will attend the ‘coalition of the willing’ meeting in Paris for the UK
Insiders are said to be pushing for rapid wins from the review process, rather than focusing on slow procurement such as ships, submarines and fighter jets.
Drones, shells and armoured vehicles are seen as capabilities that could be ramped up at speed.
‘We can ramp up the production of munitions and drones quickly,’ one defence industry source told The Times.
‘But we need the government to put in the orders rather than just give us warm words.’
Shadow defence minister Mark Francois said ‘off-the-shelf procurement’ should be emphasised.
He told the newspaper: ‘Given the situation in Ukraine, threats to Taiwan, and ongoing instability in the Middle East, we cannot possibly wait a decade to improve the combat readiness of our armed forces.’
Amid the frantic diplomatic activity, Sir Keir will lead a call with like-minded allies from the ‘coalition of the willing’ on Saturday.
The call will involve leaders who have expressed an interest in contributing to or supporting a peacekeeping mission to deter Vladimir Putin from launching a future attempt to conquer Ukraine if a deal to end the conflict is reached.
The meeting of defence ministers will also be attended by representatives from Nato and the European Union, with Ukraine’s Rustem Umerov dialling in.
Foreign ministers from the G7 – including David Lammy and US counterpart Marco Rubio – will meet in Canada from Wednesday to Friday.
Mr Lammy said he spoke to Mr Rubio and Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha on Monday ‘about how we keep the process for peace moving forward ahead of discussions in Saudi Arabia’.
The talks involving the US and Ukraine come after Volodymyr Zelensky, Sir Keir and French president Emmanuel Macron agreed to work on peace proposals.
Not all the nations involved in the ‘coalition of the willing’ are expected to commit to join a peacekeeping force, although they could offer logistical help for troops in Ukraine or other forms of support.
Sir Keir has stressed the need for Mr Trump’s US to provide a ‘backstop’ security guarantee, a commitment to intervene if a European-led peacekeeping mission comes under threat.
Government insiders have warned of a ‘chicken and egg’ situation where nations will not promise troops without US guarantees, but Mr Trump will not make commitments unless Europe steps up to defend itself.
Mr Zelensky arrived in Saudi Arabia last night for a planned meeting with the crown prince and de facto ruler of the country Mohammed bin Salman, although for protocol reasons he is not expected to take part in the US talks directly.
The call will involve leaders who have expressed an interest in contributing to or supporting a peacekeeping mission to deter Vladimir Putin from launching a future attempt to conquer Ukraine
Mr Zelensky has been trying to rebuild ties after his Oval Office bust-up with Mr Trump
He said afterwards that ‘a significant part of the discussion was dedicated to the formats of security guarantees’.
‘The Ukrainian delegation remains in Jeddah to work with the US team on Tuesday March 11, and we hope for practical outcomes. Ukraine’s position in these talks will be fully constructive,’ Mr Zelensky said.
Hours before talks were due to begin, Russia’s defence ministry said it had shot down 337 drones that had targeted more than 10 regions, including the capital city, in what appears to be the largest Ukrainian drone attack of the war.
Moscow region governor Andrei Vorobyov said one person had been killed and three injured as a result of the attack, which also damaged seven apartment buildings in Ramensky, one of the capital’s south-eastern suburbs.
