Putin (Image: Getty)
Russia made a direct threat to strike British targets in London, Leicester, and Suffolk (Norwich).
Today (April 15), Vladimir Putin’s defence ministry issued locations of what it alleges are production facilities supplying the Ukrainian armed forces with military equipment used to target Russian territory.
Three of the addresses are in England, one of which is at the location of an American air base. Others are in multiple European countries.
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Russian President Putin during a meeting with Donald Trump. (Image: Getty)
Senior Kremlin official and former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev cautioned Western leaders that the threat should be “taken literally”. “The list of European facilities which make drones [and] other equipment is a list of potential targets for the Russian armed forces,” he warned.
“When strikes become a reality depends on what comes next. Sleep well, European partners!”
Medvedev is Putin’s second-in-command on the Russian Security Council. The list specifies what appears to be Ukrainian missile maker Fire Point with an alleged address in Mildenhall, Suffolk, which is also the location of a RAF base. It operates as a key US air force hub.
Alleged addresses in London and Leicester were also given. “The leadership of several European countries, amid mounting losses and a worsening shortage of manpower in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, decided to increase the production and supply of UAVs to Ukraine for strikes on Russian territory,” said the Russian defence ministry.
“A significant increase in UAV production for the Kyiv regime is planned through increased funding for Ukrainian and joint enterprises located in European countries that produce attack drones and their components.”
The ministry said: “We regard this decision as a deliberate step leading to a sharp escalation of the military-political situation throughout Europe and the creeping transformation of these countries into Ukraine’s strategic rear area.”
It warned that “terrorist attacks against Russia” could lead to “unpredictable consequences”. The Russian defence ministry also named alleged production facilities in Germany, Denmark, The Netherlands, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Spain, Italy, Israel and Turkey.
Russian propagandist and British “expert” Vladimir Kornilov called it “an important and long-overdue warning from the Russian Ministry of Defence”.
Russian TV host Vladimir Solovyov recently said Russia should not be afraid of carrying out strikes in the UK, Norway, Germany, and Romania, as factories manufacturing arms for Ukraine are based in those countries.
“War is for a long time. Right now, no one has the slightest doubt that no one will allow us to simply get out of this war [in Ukraine] until we start acting totally differently,” he said. He also added, “Who needs a process when a country is at war”?
“We clearly know that the Europeans are manufacturing all that is killing our guys on the frontlines. What are we afraid of? Carrying out strikes in the UK, Norway, Germany, and Romania, where these factories are located. These are Ukrainian factories. Will they send their armies to fight us?,” he also said. Solovyov also added that only “after striking” those countries “will look at you differently”.