Russia warns of ‘escalation’ if America sends its nuclear weapons back to British bases
- The warning comes after signs that the US may again place nuclear weapons in Britain
- US nuclear weapons have not been on British soil for 15 years
- Russia said it would view this as an “escalation” to be avoided
Russia has warned it will view the US’s return of nuclear weapons to British military sites as an escalation.
The stark warning comes after it was reported that the US Air Force has secured $50 million (£39 million) in funding for a military project that could see US nuclear weapons placed on British soil for the first time in 15 years.
“If this step is ever taken, we will regard it as an escalation, as a step toward an escalation that would move things in a direction entirely opposite to addressing the pressing issue of withdrawing all nuclear weapons.” from European countries,” said the Russian Foreign Ministry. Spokesman Maria Zakharova warned during a briefing on Tuesday.
She added that the Kremlin would be forced to take countermeasures to “protect the security interests of our country and its allies,” but did not specify what these countermeasures would be.
Following a decision by Congress last week, RAF Lakenheath, about 100 miles northeast of London, will receive millions to build a 144-bed dormitory, which the US Air Force says will “accommodate the increase in enlisted personnel as a result of the potential security mission.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova (pictured) made the stark warning at a briefing Tuesday
RAF Lakenheath will have a 144-person dormitory for US military personnel stationed in Britain on a ‘potential security mission’, which experts say is a euphemism for nuclear weapons safety.
According to the Federation of American Scientistsa global policy think tank, the phrase “safeguarding mission” is a euphemism for the military’s ability to keep nuclear weapons “safe and under positive control.”
The US withdrew its nuclear weapons from British territory in 2008, having first deployed them here in 1954.
The hundred or so warheads were kept at RAF Lakenheath, the same base that will now be expanded to support US personnel from February 2026, when the new dormitories are expected to be completed.
The think tank previously reported that the Pentagon had added Britain to its 2023 budget, claiming it had helped Britain, as well as other countries including Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey, by investing $384 million in infrastructure for the storage of ‘special weapons’ more than 13 years.
The phrase “special weapons” is a euphemism for nuclear weapons.
While Britain is one of only five countries to be considered “nuclear-weapon states,” the Trident nuclear submarine program has been the only operational nuclear-weapon system since 1998.
The exact location of one of the four Vanguard-class submarines carrying Britain’s nuclear arsenal is classified.
MailOnline has contacted the US Department of Defense and the UK Department of Defense for comment.
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