Russia is about to attack Britain – and has designated a drone factory and a missile company as ‘legal targets’, it was claimed last night.
A senior advisor to Vladimir Putin warned that the “highest levels of the Russian government” are considering a “hybrid attack” such as sabotage or arson, rather than an “outright military strike” that would unleash a response from NATO.
In an exclusive interview with The Mail on Sunday, Andrei Fedorov, a former deputy foreign minister of Russia, described Britain as ‘evil number one’.
One of the Kremlin’s targets is a drone factory of the British-Ukrainian company Ukrspecsystems.
Details of the business premises next door RAF Mildenhall, in West Suffolk, went public in April, along with five other European companies that make weapons and drones for Ukraine in his war against Russia.
Saturday evening, Minister of Defense Wes Straating said: “The reckless rhetoric and attempts at intimidation we have seen from the Kremlin in recent weeks reflect the weakness of Putin’s position and we will not be intimidated.
‘This has been a bad year for Putin. The front line has hardly moved. The number of Russian victims continues to rise. The Russian people are paying a high price for Putin’s war.
‘It is also in our national interest that Putin’s aggression is not rewarded. The Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister and I are working together to mobilize support for Ukraine before the winter.”
One of the Kremlin’s targets is a drone factory owned by a British-Ukrainian firm, Ukrspecsystems, located next to RAF Mildenhall, in West Suffolk.
Details of Ukrspecsystems’ premises next to RAF Mildenhall, in West Suffolk, were made public in April, along with five other European companies that make weapons and drones for Ukraine
It is clear that Putin is angry with Prime Minister Andy Burnham for giving Ukraine blueprints for long-range Storm Shadow missiles.
The threat comes when:
- Bosses of British defense companies have been warned they could be targets of Russian hybrid attacks;
- A pro-Kremlin war channel suggested that a NATO base in Estonia should be attacked with at least 900 British troops;
- One of the assassins of Russian defector Alexander Litvinenko plans to stage an anti-British exhibition opposite the British Embassy in Moscow;
- Britain’s ambassador to Russia told officials not to confirm whether British weapons are going to Ukraine to avoid an escalation by Putin.
On Saturday, Elisabeth Braw, an expert at the Atlantic Council think tank, said the point of hybrid attacks is that they leave a country like Britain in a dilemma about how to respond.
She said, “I call hybrid threats the defender’s dilemma because it’s really the defender’s dilemma.
‘How exactly should you strike back, because if you were to use military means, you would really cause World War III.’
Fedorov, 71, said the Kremlin would not launch an outright military attack against Britain, a NATO member, because doing so could lead to the Western alliance launching a collective military response against Russia.
But he added: ‘Britain is evil number one. Following information that British-made drones were being used against Russian oil refineries, there has been widespread outrage [sic] in Russian society.
‘Several experts are calling for punishment with a strike [sic] Britain, and it will have the support of the majority of Russian citizens.”
He said Putin and his henchmen were angry that Andy Burnham had handed Ukraine blueprints for long-range Storm Shadow missiles, which have previously been used to invade Russia.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Andy Burnham met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev
Andrei Fedorov said the Kremlin would not launch an outright military attack against Britain as this could lead to NATO launching a collective military response against Russia.
The missiles – with a range of 560 kilometers – are manufactured by British arms company MBDA, which employs 4,000 people and has its headquarters in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.
Fedorov said of MBDA: “Many experts in Moscow say yes, it is a legal target. Absolute.’
Over the past week, Russian officials, including Kremlin spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, threatened Britain with attacks in response to Burnham’s visit to Ukraine.
The warnings came despite an unannounced visit to Moscow by CIA chief John Ratcliffe last Tuesday, where he reportedly warned Russia not to attack a NATO country.
Ms Zakharova said: “Andy Burnham’s government understands where this will lead. They need to understand that this is playing with fire and that the consequences can be unpredictable.”
The MoS also received an official memo from Nigel Casey, the British Ambassador to Moscow, which he sent to Foreign Office staff following Mr Burnham’s visit.
In the memo, he says Russia is losing its “narrative” over the war in Ukraine, leading the country to “ramp up” hybrid warfare across Europe.
He added: ‘In this period of escalation in the war, British officials, whether speaking unofficially or off the record, [should] firmly maintain our policy of neither confirming nor denying whether UK-supplied weapons are being used by Kiev in Russia.
Defense Secretary Wes Streeting said Britain will “not be intimidated” by the Kremlin. (Photo: Mr Streeting Streeting in front of a building damaged by Russian attacks in Ukraine)
“Any comment that appears to confirm the Russian allegations risks unnecessarily increasing the already substantial risks to British national security.”
At a briefing in London last week, Western officials warned that Russia is poised to launch more hybrid attacks across Europe as Ukraine gains the upper hand in the war.
One said: ‘Russia’s willingness to conduct hybrid operations is very clear. Our assessment is that Putin wants to avoid a direct confrontation with NATO.
‘We must remain vigilant when it comes to hybrid threats. Relations between us and them are at a very low level.’
Former Tory security minister Tom Tugendhat said: ‘These are the desperate words of a regime that is losing the war it started. We will not be bullied. Britain will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine.”
Nick Timothy, the Tory MP for West Suffolk, whose constituency Ukrspecsystems sits in, said: “The people of Suffolk, like the British people as a whole, will never be intimidated by Russian threats.
“Our support for Ukraine – which is a victim of unprovoked Russian aggression – will remain as strong as ever.”
Last night it also emerged that a pro-Kremlin Telegram channel, ATO Donetsk – a favorite of Russian forces – called for attacks on the Tapa NATO base in Estonia, where 900 British soldiers are stationed.
In a broadcast, the channel said: ‘We do not fly over Britain, but the Tapa military base is home to around 900 British troops, equipment and ammunition depots.
‘It’s only 150 km [93 miles] from Russia. The Baltic states are a very convenient target for a show trial.’
Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Russia has launched several hybrid attacks against Britain.
In March 2024, a warehouse in Leyton, east London, where aid for Ukraine was being stored was burnt down. The perpetrators were hired by the Russian mercenary group Wagner.
And in June, two men were jailed over a number of arson attacks on homes and a car linked to former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
Ukrspecsystems declined to comment and MBDA could not be reached.
Additional reporting: Mark Nicol
Litvinenko killer’s anti-British campaign, ‘Poison killer’, leads Britain’s hate campaign
A Kremlin assassin who poisoned defector Alexander Litvinenko in London with a radioactive chemical is now leading an anti-British campaign in Russia.
Andrei Lugovoy was one of two spies sent to Britain in 2006 to kill Mr Litvinenko, a former Russian Federal Security Service officer who became a fierce critic of Mr Putin.
Lugovoy, 56, who denies the poisoning and is now an ultra-loyalist Putin MP, is leading the campaign against Britain. He told Russian television last week that his goal is to portray the country as a “truly terrifying… enemy.”
Lugovoy will hold an anti-British exhibition later this year in a building opposite the British Embassy in Moscow, focusing on ‘colonial crimes’.
It will be titled ‘Britlag’, a play on the Russian word gulag.
The killer who poisoned defector Alexander Litvinenko (pictured) is now leading an anti-British campaign in Russia
