Vladimir Putin ally Nikolai Patrushev has warned that UK risks nuclear war with alleged provocations amid rising Ukraine strikes, including a fake torpedo plot
Russia has accused Britain of trying to spark a nuclear World War 3 by provoking Moscow and scheming to drag Donald Trump into a showdown with Vladimir Putin.
In a chilling warning, top Kremlin powerbroker Nikolai Patrushev, an important ally to Putin and former head of the FSB spy agency, claimed the UK is plotting “sophisticated anti-Russian provocations” alongside Ukraine in the Baltic Sea.
Among the bizarre allegations was a plan to stage a fake Russian torpedo attack on a US warship, and even the planting of old Soviet anchor mines in the region to blame Moscow. Patrushev, 74, claimed that Britain had been handed Russian-made torpedoes by Ukraine for use in such a false-flag stunt, which he claims was designed to derail talks between Moscow and Washington and force America to ramp up weapons supplies to Kyiv.
The claims come as Russia flexes its military muscle with the massive “July Storm” war games, involving over 150 combat ships, 120 warplanes, and 15,000 troops, with live missile launches and nuclear subs prowling the seas.
One submarine, the atomic-powered Oryol, has reportedly carried out simulated missile strikes on a mock Western target. And in a further escalation, Russia’s infamous “Doomsday Radio”, often linked to nuclear mobilisation, has begun pumping out cryptic codewords, including “Himalayan”, “Pekinsky” and “Kommunike”.
Patrushev pulled no punches as he warned of a potential hot war with the West, saying: “Submarines are capable of cooling any hot head.”
He blasted NATO’s movements as “rehearsals for full-scale aggression” and claimed the West is pushing Moscow to the brink, the Express reports. Russian military chiefs say British and American nuclear submarines are shadowing their territory, running regular patrols dangerously close to Russian waters.
Patrushev added: “Russia does not seek confrontation, but will defend itself by all means available. Any test of our combat readiness will be met with an immediate and harsh response.”
Meanwhile, war is raging inside Russia’s own borders. Overnight, Ukrainian strikes rocked multiple strategic targets, as Kyiv’s forces hit back with precision-guided HIMARS missiles. In occupied Donetsk, a suspected Russian army HQ near the Zasyadko mine went up in flames. Further south, a massive blaze tore through the Tambov Gunpowder Plant, a vital supplier to Putin’s military, reportedly following a drone attack.
More Ukrainian drones targeted the Azot chemical plant in Stavropol, which is key to artillery shell production, in a wave of nearly 40 strikes. Chaos erupted across southern Russia as drone raids hit Sochi’s busy Black Sea airport, delaying dozens of flights, and crippled railways in Rostov and Krasnodar. Two civilians were injured when a passenger train was struck in Timashevsk.
Elsewhere, airports in Vladikavkaz, Grozny, Nalchik, and Tambov were all temporarily shut down amid the drone bombardments. But Russia hit back with overnight strikes rained down on Kherson, cloaking the city in smoke, while brutal bombardments in Kharkiv a day earlier killed two and wounded 40.
Back in Moscow, speculation is swirling that Putin’s powerful aide Patrushev is lining up his son Dmitry, a 47-year-old deputy prime minister, to succeed the Russian leader when he eventually steps down.
With nuclear drills, drone wars, and veiled threats flying in all directions, tensions between Russia and the West are now edging frighteningly close to the point of no return.