‘I’m scared of the battle-hardened Russians’: top Nato commander | Russia-Ukraine war interview

In disused tunnels hidden below central London a NATO headquarters is directing troops in a simulated war with Russia. Just a few metres beneath the pigeons of Trafalgar Square, uniformed planners are analysing terabytes of data to find weak points in Vladimir Putin’s military machine. Gen Elviss commands NATO’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC), one of NATO’s two emergency response forces and likely the first thing the western alliance would throw at a heavy metal problem with a Russian accent. The Russian army that crossed the border into Ukraine in 2022 is “significantly more lethal” today, he says “and they’re used to having been tested fulsomely for the last four years”. Read more here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/05/22/british-nato-commander-scared-russians/ 00:00 Russia are a 'formidable foe' 00:12 Nato trains beneath central London 02:15 Russia the 'principle adversary' 03:20 Coalition of the Willing 04:30 Nato vs Britain 05:27 Nato without US support 06:56 Is Britain ready for war with Russia? 08:10 Putin's threats Footage credit: The Telegraph, MOD ► Sign up to the Telegraph's free new daily newsletter, From the Editor, bringing you the latest news, features and analysis from the Telegraph newsroom: www.telegraph.co.uk/customer/secure/newsletter/from-the-editor/?WT.mc_id=tmgoff_youtube_telegraphmain ► Get the latest headlines: www.telegraph.co.uk?WT.mc_id=tmgoff_youtube_telegraphmain ► Stay ahead with a Telegraph digital subscription: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/customer/subscription/store?WT.mc_id=tmgoff_youtube_telegraphmain https://www.telegraph.co.uk/ and https://www.youtube.com/telegraph are websites of The Telegraph, the UK's best-selling quality daily newspaper providing news and analysis on UK and world events, business, sport, lifestyle and culture.