Sabre-rattling Putin mouthpiece warns Brits of nuclear conflict ‘earlier than Christmas’ after Biden gave Ukraine the inexperienced gentle to make use of long-range US rockets to strike deep inside Russia

A pro-Putin mouthpiece has warned Brits of ‘nuclear war by Christmas‘ after Ukraine was granted permission to fire Western long-range missiles into Kremlin territory.

Sergey Markov, a former spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin said today Western allies including Britain, France and the US had taken a ‘big jump’ towards nuclear conflict by giving Ukraine such an approval.

Markov, a regular Putin ‘mouthpiece’, said the shock move by US President Joe Biden could mean that Britons were unable to wish each other ‘Happy Christmas’ as they could be in shelters.

His sabre-rattling, in an interview on the BBC Radio 4’s The World At One came was echoed, remarkably, by the son of the US President-Elect Donald Trump.

Donald Trump Jnr suggested those behind the move to approve Ukraine’s use of US ATACM missiles, UK Storm Shadow missiles and French Scalp missiles wanted to ‘make sure they got World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives’.

However, President Biden’s shock move was welcomed by Ukraine, by senior UK defence sources and by many European leaders.

They noted that the Kremlin and its mouthpieces in the state-controlled media and academia had threatened nuclear war every time the West had stepped up its support for Ukraine – such as when it provided tanks, fighter jets and other sophisticated weapon systems.

But Mr Markov was adamant this move was different because Western militaries would be directly involved in the conflict for the first time – as Ukraine would require their assistance to use the precision guided missile systems.

On BBC Radio 4, Mr Markov, currently the Director General of Russia’s Institute for Political Studies, was asked his reaction to the White House’s decision.

He said: ‘My reaction was awful, I couldn’t sleep well because I am just afraid nuclear war is coming.

‘This decision of United States, Great Britain and France is not a step towards nuclear war it is a big jump to nuclear war, nuclear catastrophe.

‘It is a very dangerous decision. The point is these rocket-missiles cannot be fired by the Ukrainian army, technically.

‘Because, these rocket-missiles need to have very good map of the Russian territory and only the US has this map, even Great Britain and France does not have this map.

‘The second reason is the targeting of the rocket-missiles. It cannot be done by the Ukrainian army because it needs satellite-intelligence which Ukrainian does not have.

‘So it means these rocket-missiles will be targeted to Russian cities by American, British and French militaries.

‘So, we regard this as the start of a direct war by Britain, America and France against Russia, another nuclear power.

‘American rocket missiles against our territory. This is a clear escalation of the war.

‘We will have American, British and French rocket-missiles which will kill our people in our internationally recognised territory.

‘This is the war that you started. I think it is extremely dangerous.’

Asked if Putin would use nuclear missiles in response, Mr Markov said ‘not now’ and said it was more likely that bases in eastern Europe could be hit by smaller, tactical nuclear missiles.

But he added: ‘I think Biden, Macron and Starmer want escalation which could lead to, from my understanding, in the worst scenario, the nuclear war happens before Christmas of this year.

‘Probably you will not be able to say ‘Merry Christmas’ because you will stay in the hole trying to hide away you family from the nuclear catastrophe. It can develop very, very quickly.

‘This escalation can lead to escalation by Russian side.’ 

The Kremlin has accused Biden of ‘throwing fuel on the flames’ of the Ukraine conflict by allowing Kyiv to fire long-range missiles into Russia.

For two years, President Biden has ignored the pleas of Volodymyr Zelensky to let him use Western missiles to strike key Russian installations across the border.

On each occasion the White House has insisted such a move would be escalatory, leaving the Ukrainian President in a state of despair.

But just two months before President Biden is to leave office, he has finally been convinced that he should approve Ukraine’s request.

As senior US security officials confirmed today, the determining factor has been Russia’s recruitment of 10,000 North Korean troops to bolster its ranks.

These soldiers are expected to lead a counter-offensive intended to recapture Ukrainian-held territory in the southern Russia.

Holding onto ground in the southern Russian province of Kursk remains a strategic imperative for Ukraine ahead of peace talks expected next year.

Without this territory Ukraine has no leverage to recover its eastern provinces which are currently occupied by Russian troops.

Weapon systems such as the US’s ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System), the UK’s Storm Shadow and France’s Scalp missiles, require satellite guidance and intelligence which only the US can provide.

So, from the Kremlin’s perspective, their usage against targets inside Russian territory would bring the West into direct conflict with Russia for the first time since the conflict began.

In fact, the Western ballistic missiles, which all include US components and rely on US satellites, have a range of up to 200 miles. So they do not pose a threat to Russian cities.

Security sources have suggested Ukraine will likely use the missile to target Russian airstrips, drone production facilities and command and control centres.

Earlier today, former UK Defence Secretary Sir Ben Wallace said the missiles should be used within the boundaries of international law – against military rather than civilian targets.

President Biden’s shock move comes amid the transition process between his Democrat administration and the Republican administration led by US President-Elect Donald Trump.

When the pair of presidents met at the White House last week, there was no indication that Biden, in his final weeks in office, was about to make such a significant decision.

If his son’s post on X is any indication, it appears unlikely the US President-Elect was not consulted on the move or provided his approval.

Donald Trump Jnr’s response also laid bare the chasm between the outgoing and incoming presidencies how to manage the Ukraine conflict.

He said: ‘The military industrial complex seems to want to make sure they get World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives.

‘Gotta lock in those $Trillions. Life be damned!!!’

Speaking at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, the US Deputy National Security Advisor John Finer was clear that the White House’s move was not a change of policy.

He said: ‘The United States has been clear throughout the conflict that we will make our policy decisions based on the circumstances we identify on the battlefield.

‘In recent days and weeks this has included a significant Russian escalation, that involves the deployment of a foreign country’s forces on its own territory.

‘The US has been clear we would respond to that. We have been clear with the Russians we would respond to that.

‘However, I am not going to get into precisely what form that response would take for operational reasons.’

It is possible that US President Elect Donald Trump could reverse President Biden’s decision as soon as January.

He would also be able to suspend Ukraine’s use of Storm Shadow and SCALP as these missiles include US components are require US satellite guidance.

As Sir Ben Wallace explained: ‘This is about targeting divisional level structures [inside Russia], ammunition, command and control hubs, which are only a few kilometres inside Russia.

‘So we should not let Russia deceive us that this is about a major strategic strike capability.

‘Russia wants to talk about escalation but it has escalated by bringing in North Korean troops and Iranian drones.

‘I cannot think for the [incoming] US administration, but Russia must not succeed in dividing the international community or by taking over a sovereign state.

‘Our military strength is based on alliances. That does make us vulnerable to vetoes. We have to rely on the US in certain environments and that is just the reality of it.’

While President Biden’s loosening of restrictions was welcomed in Kyiv, none of President Zelensky’s officials were exaggerating its significance militarily today/yesterday.

This is because it comes at a time when Ukraine is losing significant amounts of territory in its eastern provinces to advancing Russian forces.

And its major cities and energy infrastructure are suffering a nightly barrage of missile and drone attacks of unprecedented intensity.

In recent months the Kremin has ‘turned the screw’ in the conflict, exploiting its advantages in manpower on the battlefield and in materiel.

ATACM, Storm Shadow and Scalp missiles are also prohibitively expensive and, according to security sources, Western powers will only sanction their use against top priority military targets.

President Biden’s move was also backed by senior European Union figures and UK allies. Poland described it as a ‘decisive moment in the war’.

But Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov was adamant: ‘This was a crossing of a red line and adds fuel to the fire. This is a qualitatively new round of tension and a new situation.

‘It is clear that the outgoing administration in Washington intends to take steps to, they’ve said so, to continue to add fuel to the fire and to further provoke the level of tension.’

An op-ed in the Russian state newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta even suggested it was intended, by President Biden, to ‘complicate the implementation of Trump’s peace initiatives’.

President Putin is yet to respond personally. He has previously suggested Russia could respond to such a move by providing advanced weapon systems to Western adversaries such as the Houthi rebels.