Is the West at war with Russia?

Is the West at war with Russia?

From The Crisis Room by Global

December 18, 2025 · 35 min · Season 1 · Episode 32

About this episode

The episode discusses the UK's stance on Russia amidst rising tensions and explores potential future crises.

It's rare that the head of MI6 and the head of the Armed Forces both speak publicly in the same week. But that's what's happened in the past few days, with both warning of the imminent threat the UK faces from Russia. In this episode, The Crisis Room asks: is it time for the UK - and the West as a whole - to admit that we are at war with Russia? Amber explains the conversations she was involved in about how to deal with Russia during her time as Home Secretary - and whether enough has changed since then for Keir Starmer to take a tougher approach now. Meanwhile, Mark and Marc P unpick Putin's grey-zone warfare tactics - from sending drones to disrupt European airspace, to deploying spy ships in British waters - and discuss which specific measures the UK should take to prepare for more Russian hostility in 2026. Later, the team each choose their defining crisis of 2025 - and look ahead to the crises we can expect in the year ahead. Follow us on social media: @crisisroompod

People in this episode

Hosts: Mark, Marc P

Guest: Amber

Topics covered

  • UK-Russia relations
  • war
  • defense strategy
  • geopolitics
  • crisis management

Keywords

  • Russia
  • UK
  • war
  • MI6
  • Armed Forces
  • Keir Starmer
  • geopolitics
  • crisis

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: MI6, Armed Forces

Places: UK, Russia

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