Cold War paperwork expose 38 UK cities on Russian nuclear goal record
Declassified Cold War documents from the 1970s have disclosed 38 UK towns and cities were identified as potential targets for a Russian nuclear strike, with 106 sites in total marked as probable targets if World War III had erupted
The map was created at the height of the cold war(Image: Getty)
Declassified wartime documents have revealed that 38 towns and cities across Britain were earmarked as potential targets for a Russian nuclear assault during any armed confrontation. The devastating emergency strategy, drawn up by the government, catalogues almost 40 locations that were deemed susceptible to Soviet attack.
Alongside the urban areas, countless military installations, airfields, and naval facilities throughout Britain were also highlighted. Altogether, 106 sites were identified by defence planners as “probable nuclear targets” had World War III broken out.
Whilst the three-digit figure might seem substantial for a country of Britain’s size, it was recognised that these locations were solely marked for nuclear bombardment, and if conventional rockets and armaments were utilised, the target count would probably rise.
This emerges after Donald Trump shared a ‘provocative’ Putin photograph following the Russian leader making him ‘look weak’.
The inventory was assembled during Edward Heath’s leadership in the early 1970s and therefore represents Britain’s weak points from half a century ago. The now declassified files are housed at the National Archives, though they might still hold significance should tensions escalate once more, reports the Express US.
Further modern-day targets have been highlighted by Russian senator and military veteran Dmitry Rogozin, who has issued threats about British locations at risk in 21st-century warfare. This menace emerged following former defence secretary Ben Wallace’s controversial remarks about “making Crimea uninhabitable and unviable from a Russian point of view”.
Rogozin declared: “We must help Ukraine acquire long-range capabilities to make Crimea uninhabitable. We need to strangle Crimea. What a sober minister has in mind, a former one has on his tongue.
“However, it is even good that they reveal their true intentions. It is useful to read this for those of us who still consider peace with imperialist aggressors possible.
“And my advice to our [Russian] oligarchs: do not send your children to study in England! It is deadly dangerous.”
The targets also encompassed 23 RAF bases, 14 USAF bases, 10 radar stations, eight military command centres, and 13 Royal Navy bases.
The complete list of towns earmarked in Cold War strategies was also made public:.
