Russia says it may strike British bases and plans tactical nuclear weapon drills

Russian troops load an Iskander missile onto a mobile launcher Credit: AP

Russia has threatened to strike British military bases and said it would hold drills simulating the use of battlefield nuclear weapons amid sharply rising tensions over comments by senior Western officials about possibly deeper involvement in the war in Ukraine.

After summoning the British ambassador to the Foreign Ministry, Moscow warned that Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory with UK-supplied weapons could bring retaliatory strikes on British military facilities and equipment on Ukrainian soil or elsewhere.

The drills are a response to “provocative statements and threats of certain Western officials regarding the Russian Federation,” the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

Foreign Secretary David Cameron recently said Kyiv’s forces will be able to use British long-range weapons to strike targets inside Russia.

David Cameron recently said Kyiv’s forces will be able to use British long-range weapons to strike targets inside Russia. Credit: PA

It was the first time Russia has publicly announced drills involving tactical nuclear weapons, although its strategic nuclear forces regularly hold exercises.

Tactical nuclear weapons include air bombs, warheads for short-range missiles and artillery munitions and are meant for use on a battlefield.

They are less powerful than the strategic weapons - massive warheads that arm intercontinental ballistic missiles and are intended to obliterate entire cities.

The Russian announcement was a warning to Ukraine’s Western allies about becoming more deeply engaged in the 2-year-old war, where the Kremlin’s forces have gained an upper hand amid Ukraine’s shortage of manpower and weapons.

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Some of Ukraine’s Western partners have previously expressed concern that the conflict could spill beyond Ukraine into a war between NATO and Russia.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that statements by British officials and a comment by French President Emmanuel Macron about possibly sending soldiers to help in Ukraine had prompted the drills.

“It’s a new round of escalation,” Peskov said, referring to what the Kremlin regarded as provocative statements. “It’s unprecedented and requires special attention and special measures.”

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