Exclusive:
A Russian nuclear attack against a NATO ally would lead the UK to potentially launch its warheads as part of the organisation’s policy toward defending one of its members, it’s been claimed
Russia risks facing a rain of dozens of nuclear warheads on Moscow should it follow through with its boasts of launching a nuclear strike on on of Ukraine’s NATO allies, a military expert has told the Mirror.
Concerns about a potential WW3 were stoked last night after Russian foreign policy hawk Sergei Karaganov told the Moscow-based Kommersant newspaper the country was willing to use nuclear weapons against nations that “support NATO aggression in Ukraine”. He suggested that the Kremlin could launch a limited nuclear strike without triggering an all-out retaliation from NATO members.
Karaganov’s claim challenges the long-established policy of the defensive alliance that an attack on one member would trigger a response from all. Russian President Vladimir Putin has tested NATO’s resolve after former US President Donald Trump questioned the country’s commitment to the organisation unless its members meet defence spending targets.
Karaganov claimed the US would not follow through with its guarenteed nuclear protection to allies, adding the Kremlin’s goal “should be to ensure that all current and future enemies are sure that Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons.”
His comments come as Russian troops continue to fight against Ukraine, which continues to receive substantial financial backing from NATO and European Union member states. The statement also appears to reference any attempt to regain annexed Ukrainian territory, such as Crimea and the eastern Donbas region.
He continued: “It is time to declare that we have the right to respond to any massive strikes on our territory with a nuclear strike. This also applies to any seizure of our territory.”
While Karaganov is not official Kremlin policy, defence analyst Michael Clarke of King College London’s Centre for Defence Studies said his statements were useful to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has used state outlets to make numerous threats against the West.
Mr Clarke also weighed in on whether Karaganov’s comments should be taken seriously. “Not very,” he told The Mirror. “[There is] no evidence that [Putin] and the Russians haven’t done anything on the ground that indicates they are putting any nuclear preparations in place, which would take some time – unless they just intend to nuke the West in general, as in WW3.”
Instead Mr Clarke believes Karaganov is “serving the Kremlin’s purposes” to put out grand statements which they then do not need to take responsibility for. He went on to question the naivety of the statement and similar ones, as the UK is committed to NATO as much as the US.
“So even if Russian commentators think that the US would not act in the event of a nuclear attack in Europe, and quite apart from France’s nuclear deterrent, the UK has a nuclear submarine somewhere in the North Atlantic 24/7 and if the Prime Minister ever gave the order for it to fire, then 55 minutes later it would do so.
“Up to 40 warheads, each one six times the power of Hiroshima, all heading to Moscow. No country in the world has defences that could stop the massive destruction that would casue.
“That’s why it’s called deterrence. Awful, but that’s what it is. And Russian commentators and TV pundits play silly rhetorical games with these dreadful responsibilities of nuclear deterrence as if it was somehow trivial.”
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer yesterday hit back at Putin’s warning to NATO countries not to allow Ukraine to carry out missile strikes in Russia, adding it would lead to WW3. He said: “Russia started this conflict. Russia illegally invaded Ukraine. Russia could end this conflict straight away.”
Mr Starmer added: “Ukraine has the right to self defence and we’ll obviously be absolutely, fully supportive of Ukraine’s right to self defence – providing training capability, as you know. We don’t seek any conflict with Russia, that’s not our intention in the slightest. But they started this conflict and Ukraine’s got a right to self defence.”
