US nukes to be stationed in UK for first time in 15 years over Russia threat
The US intends to station nuclear weapons in the UK for the first time in 15 years as fears grow over the prospect of a third world war with Vladimir Putin's Russia.
According to Pentagon documents, the designs called for RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk to be home to warheads three times as powerful as the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima. They outlined plans for a "nuclear mission" that would happen at the base "imminently."
It occurs in the midst of growing cautions from US and British military authorities over the possibility of war with Russia, which is a nuclear state. RAF Lakenheath had housed US nuclear missiles, but they were evacuated in 2008 when it was thought that Moscow's danger of starting a new Cold War had diminished.
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RAF Lakenheath had housed US nuclear missiles, but they were evacuated in 2008 (Getty Images)Procurement contracts for a new airbase complex are also disclosed in the documents. The action is believed to be a component of a NATO initiative to modernise and develop nuclear sites in reaction to Russia's invasion of Ukraine over two years ago. It occurs at a time when influential people on both sides of the Atlantic foresee a possible conflict between Russia and NATO forces.
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The retiring chief of staff of the British army, General Sir Patrick Sanders, proposed the creation of a "citizen army" as a means of countering the danger earlier this week. He cautioned that in order to be ready for any confrontation, the UK's present 74,000 army soldiers would need to be reinforced by at least 45,000 reservists and citizens.
The action is believed to be a component of a NATO initiative to modernise and develop nuclear sites (LightRocket via Getty Images)In response, the administration said that the armed forces would continue to be voluntary and ruled out any move toward conscription.
In light of "the threats that exist today," US Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro has also asked the UK to "reassess" the strength of its military forces. Downing Street justified government defence spending, citing Britain's "military strength" as the reason it has been Washington's "partner of choice" in operations against the Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.
A Pentagon spokesman said it has not confirmed any plans to store nuclear weapons in the UK.
A spokesman said “The United States routinely upgrades its military facilities in allied nations. Unclassified administrative budget documents often accompany such activities. These documents are not predictive of, nor are they intended to disclose any specific posture or basing details. It is US policy to neither confirm nor deny the presence or absence of nuclear weapons at any general or specific location.”
Russia previously said it would view such a move as an "escalation".
Maria Zakharova, a Russian foreign ministry spokesman, said late last year" “If this step is ever made, we will view it as escalation, as a step toward escalation that would take things to a direction that is quite opposite to addressing the pressing issue of pulling all nuclear weapons out of European countries. This practice and its development force us to take compensating countermeasures designed to reliably protect the security interests of our country and its allies.”
American nukes are currently stations across Europe under a Nato arrangement. Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey all house the superpower's warheads.
This comes days after Russia made baseless allegations against Ukraine, saying it shot down a Kremlin military aircraft, which resulted in the death of 65 Ukrainian prisoners. Russian accusations that their forces shot down a military transport jet carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war who were to be exchanged for Russian prisoners of war have not been confirmed by Ukrainian officials.
The Ukrainian organisation in charge of prisoner swaps announced late on Friday that it had received a list of the 65 Ukrainians Moscow claimed had perished in the plane accident on Wednesday in the Belgorod region of Russia "with great delay" from Russian officials.
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