The United Kingdom is accelerating the review of its national defense plans and preparing to launch a public information campaign on how to address an emergency amid increasingly concrete threats from Russia. This is also true after a cyberattack on an energy facility blamed on hackers linked to Iran.
The Financial Times has revealed that the British government is updating its "war book," the manual that establishes how the country should respond to external threats, both military, as in the event of a potential conflict, and civilian. This is necessary work, as the war rages on and risks spreading: according to Bloomberg, citing sources close to the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin is preparing to escalate against Ukraine , launching powerful ballistic missiles against Kiev and infrastructure targets in other cities.
For the tsar, it is explained, negotiations for a peace agreement have effectively reached a stalemate. And the escalating spiral of attacks is leading a growing number of Russian officials to conclude that Putin might, as a last resort, decide to use even tactical nuclear weapons .
Bloomberg's revelations come as the Kremlin confirmed that CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Moscow , but without contact with Vladimir Putin. "It was semi-routine," Donald Trump downplayed the matter, claiming Ratcliffe's trip had nothing to do with a possible Russian escalation. In any case, Britain's acceleration in preparing for war is unsurprising, as the City newspaper reports, stems from the warning raised in recent months by former Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who claimed that "Russia could attack NATO as early as 2030."
Meanwhile, the government of his successor, Andy Burnham, is preparing an advertising campaign urging families to stock up on basic supplies—such as canned food and bottled water—in anticipation of prolonged disruptions related to hostile foreign actions or cyber attacks. "It won't be anything like the instructions issued in the US during the Cold War," a government source explained: "There will be practical advice on how to improve household resilience. It will be common sense, not alarmism ."
Further fueling the dossier have been several incidents in recent weeks. Moscow has threatened repercussions following reports that British-made drones were used by Ukraine in attacks deep into Russian territory. Furthermore, a former Russian Deputy Foreign Minister has claimed that sabotage against drone factories in the Kingdom by "unknown groups" could be taking place following the British approval for the production of long-range Storm Shadow missiles by KIE.
(Unioneonline)