Scotland is a “frontline nation” in the fight against Russia, a Labour MP has said.
Graeme Downie said the country was under threat from Russia on a daily basis.
Russian vessels and jets have been spotted near Scottish waters and airspace in recent years, including in November when a Russian spy ship used lasers for the first time to disrupt RAF pilots tracking its activity in the north of the country.
Meanwhile, British armed forces boarded a Russian shadow fleet oil tanker, used to evade sanctions, in the English Channel in the early hours of Sunday.
“What we’re looking at here is the threats that the UK faces,” Mr Downie told BBC Scotland’s The Sunday Show.
“We saw the news this morning of UK forces engaged in the English Channel, and I think what we need to understand in Scotland in particular is that we are a frontline nation in an ongoing conflict with Russia.
“We’ve got the Greenland-Iceland-UK gap that we see RAF jets from Lossiemouth taking off routinely to intercept.
“I think what we need to understand as a country is that we are under threat from Russia on a daily basis.”
Operations like this require skill, professionalism and courage. I pay tribute to our Armed Forces personnel and all those involved.
Russia relies on its shadow fleet to fund their conflict in Ukraine and our interdiction delivers another blow to Putin's illegal war. https://t.co/k5X5PBpiLX
— Dan Jarvis MP (@DanJarvisMBE) June 14, 2026
Mr Downie said defence spending had to increase but added that it was “an argument that we’ve got to win inside the party, inside government, to make sure that that happens and we’ve got the kind of capabilities that we need to defend the country”.
He suggested his party had failed to persuade the UK public of the need to increase defence spending.
The MP said the funding of the pensions triple lock should be part of discussions about how to raise defence spending, but on calls to slash welfare, he said: “We will not strengthen the country by putting more people into poverty.”
Mr Downie said the UK Government had made “some very good progress” on defence but admitted there had been “mistakes that have been playing out publicly”.
John Healey quit as defence secretary earlier this week after accusing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer of failing to provide the money needed to “defend the country at a time of rising threats”.
Dan Jarvis, the new Defence Secretary, said the UK Government had to “meet the moment” and raise defence spending.