A bombshell new report from a UK-based thinktank has warned the country is barely able to protect its own military sites from Russian missiles, let alone major cities
A Russian missile attack on the UK is as likely now as it was at the height of the Cold War, an influential think tank has warned.
Vladimir Putin has repeatedly singled out Britain in threats during Russia’s “special military operation” invasion of Ukraine as an enthusiastic supporter of the country, with the country’s defenders having held back waves of the despot’s troops with British gear and funds for the last three years.
He and his allies have threatened the use of nuclear weapons on the battlefield, saying Russia may be forced to use more extreme measures as western support persists. But while the world-ending weapons have not been used yet, experts are convinced the risk has reached its highest in decades.
The Council on Geostrategy, a UK-based think tank, has warned that Russian submarines and warships lurking on the Norwegian coast pose the most significant risks to Britain. Authors of a report released by the organisation state that Putin’s Northern Fleet is equipped with 800 cruise missiles they believe could be used to devastate the UK.
Among them are missiles in the Kalibr family, ship launched and submarine to air artillery capable of hiting targets in a range of more than 1,500 miles. Not only is Britain not equipped to fend off attacks on the country’s military installations, the report adds, but it hasn’t the capabilities to protect major cities.
The report indicates the looming missile threat is the “most stark it has been since the end of the Cold War”. The report, which comes ahead of conclusions from the Government’s strategic defence review – ordered by Sir Keir Starmer to identify kinks in the UK’s defence network – also advises on measures Labour should take to prepare for the threat.
The council advises it “may be wise” to shore up the Royal Navy’s antiballistic missile defences, noting the costs of buying new ground-based systems. The systems, it adds, would ideally be complemented by ground-based counterparts, stating: “In an ideal world, ground-based ballistic missile defences would also be acquired.”
Russia isn’t the only threat, with China and Iran also building their stocks of systems potentially capable of hitting the UK, the report adds. It claims that while Putin has a “limited” stock of ground systems, China and Iran are also investing in hypersonic and ballistic missile technology. The report concludes: “As ranges increase, the British Isles will increasingly come under potential threat.”
The warning comes after Russia’s foreign intelligence service accused the UK of being the world’s biggest “warmonger” in a sensational statement earlier this week. The SVR intelligence agency claimed Britain was underlining “peacekeeping efforts” sponsored by the US, threatening to “expose” the country and claiming London was responsible for sparking World Wars One and Two.
The agency said: “As we can see, London today, just as it did on the eve of both world wars of the last century, acts as the main instigator of the global conflict.”