Watch former MI6 chief and Rusi boss discuss Russia, Trump and the future of the West

Join us as world affairs editor Sam Kiley sits down with former MI6 chief Sir Alex Younger and Dr Rachel Ellehuus, director-general of The Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) and former Pentagon official, to explore the shifting global security landscape.

In this debut episode of The Conversation, The Independent’s new expert-led discussion series, our panel unpacks the fast-changing global security landscape in a discussion entitled Shifting Alliances.

They delve into the strategic importance of Russia’s actions in Ukraine, Nato’s future, and whether Europe has the strength and resolve to face the Russian challenge.

During the panel, former MI6 chief Sir Alex warned Britain must rearm and rebuild its reserves – potentially through national service – to face the growing threat from Russia and the destabilising influence of leaders like Putin and Trump.

Alongside Dr Ellehuus, he highlighted how Trump’s shift in US strategic priorities has shaken European security, emboldened Putin, and increased unconventional Russian attacks across Europe.

Watch the full panel below.

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Sam Kiley is The Independent’s world affairs editor, bringing over three decades of experience covering global conflicts and major crises. He has reported on the Somali famine, the Rwandan genocide, and wars across the Balkans, Africa, Palestine, Ukraine, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

Before joining The Independent, he spent six years as senior international correspondent for CNN in Abu Dhabi and seven years at Sky News, covering conflict and security. His career began in 1990 with The Sunday Times, followed by roles at The Times, Evening Standard, and Channel 4’s Dispatches, before moving to Sky News in 2010 as foreign affairs editor.

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Sir Alex Younger was for 30 years a career intelligence officer in Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service, MI6. He served in Europe, the Middle East and Afghanistan. He was appointed as director of counter terrorism in 2009, and as chief from 2014 to 2020.

Prior to MI6, Alex served in the British Army as an infantry officer.

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Rachel Ellehuus is the director-general of Rusi. She joined after nearly three years at Nato as the US Secretary of Defense Representative in Europe and Defence Adviser to the US Mission to Nato.

Previously, she was deputy director of the Europe and Eurasia Programme at Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a senior adviser at WestExec Advisors, and held multiple roles at the US Department of Defense, including acting deputy assistant secretary for European and Nato policy. She also worked on the UK’s 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review during an exchange at the Ministry of Defence.