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A TV series shows Britain is woefully unprepared for war

"Lessons observed" from behind the scenes at Sky's "The Wargame" series playing out Russian coercion of the UK. Formerly defence-sceptical politicians learned a lot: now the rest of them need to get the message. www.ft.com/content/65da...

ft.com

Sky’s ‘The Wargame’ may be fiction but the defence vulnerabilities it reveals are very real

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Update: Edward Rowe is, apparently, local to Gloucestershire, so has my sincerest apologies (as well as deep sympathy for what his editor has asked of him).

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If this is true, then I was completely wrong in both the post and the alt text, and I sincerely apologise to Edward and blame his editor instead.

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In breaking news this morning: coverage of the RAF Fairford incident is punctuated by a BBC journalist who finds life outside London so bizarre and alien that he has to explain to people what waking up in the countryside is like in the live feed.

"Birdsong, mist and the smell of manure." I don't know where Edward Rowe is from but I suspect it's not Gloucestershire.

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I’ll be on BBC News at 1400 to talk about this. Apparently I am a “safe pair of hands” who “won’t speculate on air”. Makes me wonder who else they have already asked and what they said…

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Ah, a plane-spotter's dream, those "B-11 bombers". Very rare indeed.

Post from hapless BBC journalist at Fairford whom nobody has told what he's looking at through the wire.

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Reposted by Keir Giles

- regardless of who the instigators may be, congratulations to the US and/or British security forces for detecting and interdicting whatever was being planned here. bsky.app/profile/apne...

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Keir Giles @keirgiles.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Inevitably, lots of speculation over the possible instigators of the operation disrupted near RAF Fairford. Pointless at present because of the wide choice available. (Iran? Russia? Russia pretending to be Iran? Home-grown far-left "activists"?) We will know more in due course, but for now -

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Russia’s state propaganda outlets, and their patsies and shills in the West, perform the valuable public service of ensuring that the atrocities of Bucha are not forgotten amid the tide of other Russian crimes.

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Reposted by Keir Giles

American Overthrow: Moscow’s Endgame in Its Long War with Washington | King's College London

Would you like to discuss Russia's long-term campaigns of regime change through information warfare and political subversion, and whether they have succeeded in the United States, in person? Come to King's College London on Monday 5 October 2026. Limited places! www.kcl.ac.uk/events/ameri...

kcl.ac.uk

In his new book, American Overthrow, Keir Giles examines America’s political transformation through the prism of Kremlinology.

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Keir Giles @keirgiles.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

My first impression of tonight’s hotel, that I had arrived in the Herefordshire version of Fawlty Towers, turned out to be 100% accurate. But at least they’re self-aware.

Photos of the hotel staff (actually the cast of Fawlty Towers)

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Keir Giles @keirgiles.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

An interesting excursion down the rabbit-hole in Hereford Cathedral today. Fellow author on stage: 1. The idea of Russia as a threat is a covert campaign by British authorities to create an external enemy to distract from internal ones. There is no external threat to the UK. BUT ALSO...

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Keir Giles @keirgiles.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

See you in Hereford Cathedral in an hour and a bit.

Poster for Hereford book festival in front of the Cathedral

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Keir Giles @keirgiles.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Watch the final episode of Sky's "The Wargame" tonight. The most disturbing part is the British cabinet members determined to prioritise international law over national survival. It's a parable for so many of the country's self-inflicted injuries. www.sky.com/watch/the-wa...

sky.com

The Wargame | Coming to Sky and NOW on 21 September

What would you do in a state of emergency? Coming to Sky and NOW.

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Keir Giles @keirgiles.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Attack drones launched from vessels of Russia's shadow fleet at targets in Western Europe, you say? One reason that scenario didn't make it into the plot of Sky's "The Wargame", broadcasting this week, is because the team playing Russia already had too many options. inews.co.uk/news/world/w...

Screenshot describing Wargame discussions of shadow fleet attack drones.

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Reposted by Keir Giles

Andy Scollick @andyscollick.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

"Russia observes where any action will have the greatest impact due to a lack of resilience, civil defense, and political fragility," Giles says.

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Keir Giles @keirgiles.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I greatly enjoyed the Russian translation of one of my books on Russia in this NTV hit piece. «Москва рулит»... no you haven't quite got it, lads. Or maybe I should just catch up with them and write a book called "Moscow Rolls".

Russian NTV promotion of Keir Giles's dastardly books

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Keir Giles @keirgiles.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Thursday night: Hammersmith, London, for the live show rounding off Sky's "The Wargame" series playing out how Russia could coerce the UK. Friday morning: Hereford Cathedral, for the Hereford Military History Festival with @elisabethbraw.bsky.social & co. www.herefordmilitaryhistoryfestival.com

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Reposted by Keir Giles

Virtual Routes @virtualroutes.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Our first Ironmonger House Talk in London: join Hanna Notte & @keirgiles.bsky.social on 19 Oct for a book conversation on Russian hybrid warfare & Moscow’s confrontation with the West, moderated by the Financial Times' Charles Clover. Places are limited. Register: virtual-routes.org/event/moscow...

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Keir Giles @keirgiles.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Fascinating to watch, over on the other place, all the pro-Russian voices in the comments that used to enthusiastically back GB News coverage now turning savagely on the channel because it has started talking about the importance of national defence. x.com/GBNEWS/statu...

x.com

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Ooh, I didn’t know there was going to be an actual invasion at 9 pm tonight on Sky!

“How will real political figures respond to a fake invasion?”, asks this trailer for Sky’s Wargame series.

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I’ve seen it, and I can tell you the correct answer is “with a stiff drink in your hand“. (Not much of a) spoiler: Nicola Sturgeon comes across as one of the most sensible individuals on the team playing the British cabinet when faced with a belligerent Russia.

Headline from “The National“: how to watch Nicola Sturgeon in the Wargame tonight

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Putin is escalating against NATO but a Baltic incursion remains unlikely

I missed this last week. A helpful demolition of scenarios assuming Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are (a) undefended (b) unprepared (c) passive victims of Russian nonsense with no ability to resist and fight back. www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrain...

atlanticcouncil.org

The recent escalation in Russian gray zone aggression across Europe has sparked a lively debate over how far the Kremlin may be prepared to go, but a Russian attack on the Baltic states remains unlike...

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American Overthrow: Moscow’s Endgame in Its Long War with Washington | King's College London

kcl.ac.uk

In his new book, American Overthrow, Keir Giles examines America’s political transformation through the prism of Kremlinology.

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I would be absolutely delighted to hear alternative theories for why the Trump group not only feels it will need to project military power in its own capital city, but also assesses that the "ballroom" will not be enough to do so. Next up: rebuilding the Kennedy Center into a flak tower. Watch.

Excerpt from 'American Overthrow' about the military "ballroom"

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I often wonder why, when they lead with the doom-and-gloom worst-case angle of something I’ve said, they choose to add a picture of me with a self-satisfied smirk on my face as though I’m enjoying it.

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