REFNATION
Foreign PolicyNationalClosed · Final

With giving Ukraine blueprints for long range missiles, are we slowly creeping towards war with Russia?

Yes 60%No 40%331 votes cast

Today the UK government authorised defence firm MBDA to share classified technical information on British components of the Storm Shadow/SCALP long-range cruise missile with Ukraine. Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced this in Kyiv on Ukraine's Independence Day, enabling local assembly and production of the 250km-range weapons already used by Ukraine against Russian targets. The decision follows France's similar move and comes amid warnings from Western intelligence that Russia may test NATO with limited attacks or hybrid operations in coming years.

Jump to opinions· 11

“Yep. It is inevitable!” was the starkest Yes mood on the page, and the verdict followed it: a clear majority judged that sharing the Storm Shadow know-how amounts to creeping towards war. But the chamber was not united in its reasoning; the winning side offered fewer arguments than No, and its strongest voices pulled in sharply different directions.

One Yes case treated escalation as unavoidable, while another rejected the question’s premise altogether: “RUSSIA is intentionally creeping towards war with Europe”. A more conspiratorial voice blamed “Military & Financial Complexes” and politicians allegedly seeking “forever wars”, giving the winning camp a tone that ranged from fatalism to deep institutional distrust.

The No side’s most-respected argument made the opposite case in strategic terms: “Enabling Ukraine to produce its own sovereign defence does not escalate war; it deters unprovoked aggression.” Other voices were more confident than subtle, insisting “Russia has no ability to strike us” and that Moscow would not attack a NATO country because it would be “suicide for them”.

The two sides often talked past each other. Yes voters treated the transfer of capability as another step into direct confrontation; No voters treated it as a means of preventing a wider one, with one arguing that “we need to support Ukraine and allies as much as possible to prevent this”. That puts the result inside the live argument over deterrence, alliance credibility and the risks of arming Ukraine without ever quite answering the underlying fear of miscalculation.

The verdict was clear; the argument was not.

LeftCentreRight
60%
Yes · 198 votes
40%
No · 133 votes
Yes No
By gender
Male
51/49
Female
72/28
By age
16–24
38/62
25–34
50/50
35–44
62/38
45–54
67/33
55–64
56/44
65+
55/45
By political leaning
H. Left
43/57
Left
46/54
C. Left
42/58
Centre
41/59
C. Right
63/37
Right
69/31
H. Right
80/20
Spread the wordShare
Debate

11 Opinions

Sign in and vote to share your opinion.
The Unifier
Voted noRight

I don’t think Russia would ever be stupid enough to start a war with the UK.

rjane· 279
The Public Power Architect
Voted noLeft

Russian are seemingly trying to start WW3 but we need to support Ukraine and allies as much as possible to prevent this, to show Russia that aggression will not be tolerated and we stand with our allies

Lord· 160
The Schoolhouse Gatekeeper
Voted noCentre

Russia has no ability to strike us. They can cause problems, but in no way can they fight a war on two fronts.

Fletch· 213
The Armed Social Contract
Voted noRight

Russia will not attack a NATO country it would be suicide for them. You only need to look at the damage Ukraine has inflicted to know Russia militarily would not last. Yes she has nuclear warheads but even Putin is not mad enough to attack us. Personally I think the quiet influence of China is more of an issue due to their brand of Communism.

JohnnyBoy· 232
The Administrative Absolutist
Voted yesHard Right

Military & Financial Complexes want forever wars to keep a broken Financial system from totally collapsing. Our Politicians are puppets installed to do the bidding of Globalists who want a war with Russia. Isn’t it funny that Starmer nor Burnham ever had policies or £££ for us yet can instantly find £Billions for Ukraine NGOs Migrants Islam EU Climate Change & Foreign Aid etc. They won’t fund our Armed forces - who will protect us from Islam when they are in Russia? Treason.

The Market-State Traditionalist
Voted noCentre Right

What would Russia get out of a war, its all just brinksmanship. The mistake of all of this was not to just put Allied troops in Ukraine and march to Ukraine's borders. The Korean war is the example of how you can figh t in a territory and never be at war with each other. Since Allied troops and China clearly fought but were never at war

The Open-Border Green Insurgent
Voted yesLeft

I voted yes, but i believe the framing of the question is leading and missing context. I would say that RUSSIA is intentionally creeping towards war with Europe, not the other way around. This is because of Russia's aggression; let's not forget that.

The Bellwether
Voted noLeft

No, we won't be making them. Russia is doing quite well on it's own to get WW3 going. A war that no sane person wants.

BenL· 156
The Paragon
Voted noLeft

Enabling Ukraine to produce its own sovereign defence does not escalate war; it deters unprovoked aggression. Under Article 51 of the UN, nations have a right to self-defence against illegal invasion. Leaving them less defensive would only embolden authoritarian expansionism and threaten European stability. The counterpoint is valid, though: we must always err on the side of caution and manage escalation risks when dealing with unpredictable regimes like Russia.

Lixhul· 545
The Lawgiver
Voted yesRight

Yep. It is inevitable!