Are you apprehensive about Vladimir Putin instantly threatening the UK? Take our ballot and have your say
Are you worried about Putin directly threatening the UK?
With tensions escalating, Vladimir Putin has now come out with a direct warning to the UK, saying Russia could target Britain with strikes from a ‘new’ kind of missile. It comes amid Russia ramping up its rhetoric, stoking fears that the war could spread beyond Ukraine and pull Western nations like the UK into the conflict.
And last night, Russia’s UK ambassador, Andrei Kelin, took things a step further. He told Sky News that by supplying Ukraine with longer-range missiles, the UK was now ‘directly involved’ in the war. When asked if that meant Britain was now part of the fighting, Kelin didn’t mince words: “Absolutely, Britain and UK is now directly involved in this war, because this firing cannot happen without NATO staff, British staff as well.”
But here’s where it gets even more concerning. Putin’s recent missile attack on Ukraine used a new ‘intermediate-range’ missile, which has raised alarms. While it had a conventional warhead this time, it’s seen as a warning shot from Putin, who controls the largest nuclear arsenal in the world.
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Initial reports suggested the strike involved an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) – the kind that can carry nuclear warheads and reach targets more than 3,400 miles away. But the Kremlin quickly clarified it wasn’t, but something called Oreshnik (or Hazel in English), a new missile with a range that still far exceeds what’s needed to hit Ukraine.
Putin later explained in a TV address that the missile strike was in retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on Russian soil earlier in the week, which were made possible by US and UK-supplied missiles. He didn’t hold back when it came to Western nations supporting Ukraine, warning them their military bases could be targeted by the same Oreshnik missiles.
“We believe that we have the right to use our weapons against military facilities of the countries that allow to use their weapons against our facilities,” he said. And he added a chilling note: “In case of escalation of aggressive actions, we will respond resolutely in a mirror way.”
Putin did, however, try to ease some nerves by saying that Russia would give advance warnings before launching strikes on other countries, giving civilians a chance to evacuate. In a rather ominous sign, Putin signed a new doctrine on Tuesday that lowers the threshold for using nuclear weapons.
