British former Nato chief warns Putin of 'existential risk' to Russia if line crossed

Lord Robertson tells UK Parliament that Russian victory in Ukraine would bring 'greatest nuclear threat' yet faced

Lord George Robertson. PA

A former Nato chief has warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that an attack on any member of the nuclear-armed alliance would pose “an existential risk to the Russian motherland”.

Lord George Robertson of Port Ellen said the collective defence guarantee, known as Article 5, “goes well beyond normal red lines”, in a hard-hitting speech at Westminster directed at the Kremlin.

The Labour peer, who was Nato secretary general from 1999 to 2004, is the only person to have announced the activation of the clause, after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US.

The former defence secretary told Parliament a Russian victory in Ukraine would be “the greatest nuclear threat” faced, and stressed the urgent need to stop this happening, including by providing more military assistance.

Lord Robertson was speaking in a debate on the resilience of the UK armed forces during cutbacks and the Russian invasion.

“What is increasingly clear is that Vladimir Putin has declared war on the West," he said.

“What is also clear is we are not responding adequately to that overt challenge to our countries and what we stand for. There is no visible urgency in our national behaviour.

Russia and Ukraine conflict latest - in pictures

A tank, seen left, fires a round in Soledar, a town in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. Reuters

Tank fire in Soledar, Donetsk. Reuters

Firefighters work to put out a blaze at a Kharkiv fireworks storage site after it was struck by a Russian missile. Getty

Col Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine's ground forces, visits his troops on the frontline in Soledar, Donetsk. Reuters

A Ukrainian flag attached to a tank flutters in the wind in Bakhmut. Reuters

A specialist from an emergency crew works on a residential building in Donetsk that was damaged in recent shelling. Reuters

A missile fragment left by shelling in Russian-controlled Donetsk. AP

Residents remove debris and carry their belongings out of a building destroyed by recent shelling in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine. Reuters

Ukrainian forces fire an anti-aircraft weapon as Russia's attack on the frontline city of Bakhmut continues. Reuters

A car drives past a destroyed building purported to have been used as temporary accommodation for Russian soldiers, dozens of whom were killed in a Ukrainian missile strike in Makiivka, Russian-controlled Ukraine. Reuters

The site of a temporary barracks for Russian soldiers in Makiivka, which was destroyed in a Ukrainian missile attack. Reuters

A Ukrainian serviceman carries his injured comrade from the battlefield to a hospital in the Donetsk region. AP

Smoke rises after shelling in Soledar, the site of heavy battles with Russian forces in the Donetsk region. AP

“Our UK defences need strengthening. That doesn’t just mean spending more on defence. It means replenishing the stocks that we are giving to the Ukrainians today.

“We need to give the Ukrainians more. If as ministers continually say the Ukrainians are fighting for themselves, their country and for us, as indeed they are, then holding stocks and equipment here, when our frontline is actually in eastern Ukraine, then we leave ourselves dangerously exposed."

Lord Robertson also appeared to dismiss calls by some for an “off ramp” for Moscow from the conflict, drawing parallels with the Russian retreat from Afghanistan in 1989.

“They were faced there with an endless unwinnable war costing lives and precious resources, so the Kremlin ordered the mighty Red Army of the Soviet Union to come home," he said.

“Nobody was asking at that time for an off ramp or for some ceasefire or some face-saver for the Russians.

"They simply folded their tents and left. And 32 months later there was no Soviet Union.”

Drones and weapons supplied to Ukraine - in pictures

Turkeysold its Bayraktar TB2 armed drones to Ukraine. They can fly at an altitude of 7,500 metres and swoop down to attack targets. AFP

The US also gave 700 of its Switchblade kamikaze drones. AP

Cheap commercial drones like the DJI Mavic series have been modified in Ukraine. AFP

Germany will follow the US in providing a Patriot missile defence system, pictured above, to Ukraine. Reuters

FIM-92 Stinger rockets have been donated to help Ukrainian infantry engage aircraft and drones. The shoulder-launched missiles can shoot down aircraft. Photo: US Army

Germany donated 25 Flakpanzer Gepard all-weather-capable self-propelled anti-aircraft gun. AFP

The High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or Himars, can simultaneously launch several precision-guided missiles. The US has given Ukraine projectiles with a range of about 130 kilometres. EPA

M777 howitzers and about 300,000 shells have been donated to give Ukraine an accurate artillery platform with a range of 50 kilometres. EPA

Ukraine has been sent at least 5,000 of the anti-tank weapons known as NLAWs. These shoulder-launched rockets have proved deadly in the field. PA

Ukrainian troops have also received thousands of Javelin anti-tank missiles. Bloomberg

Poland and the Czech Republic sent Russian-made T72 tanks, which Ukraine has used for decades, to ease integration and cut down training time. EPA

France as announced its plan to give AMX-10 RC “scout tanks” to Ukraine. "This is the first time that western-made armoured vehicles are being delivered in support of the Ukrainian army," a French official said. AFP

Shortly after the French, the US said it would send Bradley fighting vehicles to provide "a level of firepower and armour that would bring advantages on the battlefield”. Reuters

The UK sent their phased-out Saxon armoured vehicles. They found new life protecting infantry units in transit and dealing with tough off-road conditions. Getty Images

Denmark has supplied Harpoon anti-ship launchers to help Ukraine defend its coasts. AFP

The US sent 20 Soviet and Russian made Mi-17 helicopters to Ukraine that had initially been bought for the Afghan government in 2010. AP

Germany has also supplied its latest version of the IRIS-T air defence system designed to shoot down missiles at altitudes up to 20 kilometres. Getty Images

Ukraine has also been given thousands of small arms, bullet proof vests, medical kits, litres of fuel, granades and other weapons systems. Reuters

Lord Robertson issued a warning to Mr Putin: “We need to tell Vladimir Putin this. One step over the Article 5 Nato line and there will be an existential risk to the Russian motherland.

“And here’s another message for the man in the Kremlin, who gave us this terrible war, speaking as I do as the only person ever to announce the invoking of Article 5 – that guarantee that an attack on one Nato country should be seen as an attack on all of them.

“Can I tell Vladimir Putin — I met him nine times during my time in Nato and at that time we did good business together — but I tell him now the Article 5 guarantee of a nuclear weapons alliance goes well beyond normal red lines.”

Conservative defence minister Baroness Annabel Goldie said: “Our safety and that of our allies depends on Ukraine winning and Russia losing.

“Since the start of the conflict the United Kingdom has been a leading supporter of Ukraine. We have underlined that we are in this for the long haul.

“We work closely with the armed forces of Ukraine, we analyse with them what they think their needs are. We don’t do that in a silo on our own.

"We consult with our allies and our partners so that we are ensuring that our singular contributions achieve the best aggregate output in terms of impact and effect.”