Russia has issued its most direct nuclear threat to the UK yet, warning that any British or NATO military action against Russian territory would be met with a response using all means at Russia's disposal, including nuclear weapons.
The warning, reported by Russia's TASS news agency, follows UK media reports about a potential NATO blockade of Kaliningrad and the UK seemingly willing to "de-recognise" Russian sovereignty over the area. Kaliningrad is Russia's only ice-free port on the Baltic Sea and belonged to Germany before it was annexed by the Soviet Union in 1945 after World War 2.
Russia's warning to the UK
A Russian spokesman said on Telegram: "We have noted an article in The i Paper on Kaliningrad, which suggests, among other things, that NATO could blockade the region or 'de-recognise Russian sovereignty'. The prospect of a hypothetical strike is also explored in Sky News' recent mini-series The Wargame.
"Those advocating plans to blockade or strike Kaliningrad should have no illusions about the consequences. Any British or NATO military action against Russian territory would be met with a response using all means at Russia's disposal, including nuclear weapons.
"Russia has repeatedly made clear that it neither seeks confrontation with NATO and Europe nor intends to attack them. But should anyone choose to unleash such a conflict, they must be under no illusion that Russia will respond accordingly."
Lavrov's UN address
A few hours later, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov doubled down during his speech to the United Nations General Assembly, describing Europe's efforts to destroy Russia as "futile".
He said: "For the sake of the utopian goal of containing Russia, the West has destroyed the European security system with its own hands and nurtured the Russophobic regime in Kiev. Now, realising the futility of their efforts, Europe is doing everything to prevent a peaceful settlement and to derail negotiations – a process many are interested in, including the Trump administration.
"The West continues the endless flow of weapons into Ukraine and helps the regime target drones and missiles at civilians and civilian infrastructure.
"The Ukrainian regime is openly overriding such cornerstones of the UN Charter as respecting human rights and freedoms for all with no discrimination as to race, gender, language or religion. There is no other country in the world but Ukraine where the law prohibits a language.
"It is only possible to secure a lasting peace by ending the dangerous rivalry between the largest global players. We can only achieve this by strictly adhering to the UN Charter and the principle of equal and indivisible security.
"Let me remind you that this principle means refraining from ensuring the security of one state at the expense of others; that it is unacceptable for any country or a group of countries or an organisation to claim dominance in security.
"This mainly applies to NATO, which seeks to spread its destructive influence far beyond the geography of its domain."
