'OPERATION UNTHINKABLE'
Putin would wipe out Britain and France’s nuclear deterrents in ONE DAY if WW3 begins, Kremlin insider warns
Russia is building nuclear shelters across the country in preparation for a nuclear conflict
RUSSIA plans to destroy Britain and France's nuclear powers in just one day if WW3 unfolds, a pro-Kremlin propagandist has warned.
Dr Yuri Baranchik has ranted about "Operation Unthinkable", a plan to be used if Putin's war in Ukraine descends into global conflict.
7
7
7
7
Baranchik, who works for the pro-Putin Moscow RUSSTRAT Institute, said Russian forces would "eliminate the nuclear potentials of Britain and France".
This would weaken Europe significantly within just 24 hours of a nuclear WW3 - targeting Britain and France's nuke submarines and warheads.
Designed to "pull out the nuclear teeth of Britain and France", Baranchik says it would seriously damage Nato's nuclear power.
He boasted on Telegram: “Instead of a protracted war of attrition, in one day we deprive France and Britain of their nuclear weapons and destroy the whole of Europe.
read more on ukraine war
“We deprive them of their status as nuclear powers and radically change the entire security system in Europe."
France is one of the five "Nuclear Weapons States" with what is thought to be a stockpile of around 300 nuclear warheads.
It is also home to six nuclear submarines - including the 99-metre "Suffren".
The UK is home to four nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines – HMS Vanguard, Vengeance, Victorious and Vigilant.
Most read in The Sun
It also has a store of around 200 nuclear warheads, although this is less than China, France, Russia and the US.
After Russia carries out Operation Unthinkable, Baranchik warns that Putin would issue an ultimatum to the US, Nato and the EU.
This would urge then to stop all support for Ukraine within a day - or face the wrath of Russia's own tactical nuclear weapons.
He said: “After the successful implementation of Operation Unthinkable, we immediately issue an ultimatum to the United States, NATO and the European Union to cease within 24 hours military and financial support for Kyiv.
“Otherwise, after 24 hours, we will use tactical nuclear weapons against any objects in Europe."
Baranchik boasted that Britain’s nuclear arsenal could be destroyed without much difficulty.
He warned: "If we turn to the details, we will see that depriving Britain of nuclear weapons is quite simple.
"Its entire nuclear potential, since 1998, has been a group of four Vanguard-class SSBNs [nuclear power submarines carrying atomic missiles] based in Faslane, Scotland.
"One or two underwater boats are on alert….between Greenland, Iceland and Britain, and one or two are in port for repairs and replenishment."
There are members of Putin's government who are "professionally prepared" to take them out, he claimed.
With France - which also has an air-to-ground tactical nuclear capability - he said it would be “more complicated” but “still solvable”.
PUTIN'S NUCLEAR THREATS
BY Ellie Doughty, Foreign News Reporter
NATO is headed for a nuclear showdown with the rest as Nato could be considering moving nukes to Putin's doorstep.
Below is a timeline of some of the thinly veiled threats the Kremlin has made against the West since invading Ukraine two years ago.
Feb 24, 2022 - Vladimir Putin: “No matter who tries to stand in our way or all the more so create threats for our country and our people, they must know that Russia will respond immediately, and the consequences will be such as you have never seen in your entire history."
March 26, 2022 - Putin crony Dmitry Medvedev: “We have a special document on nuclear deterrence. This document clearly indicates the grounds on which the Russian Federation is entitled to use nuclear weapons. … [This includes] when an act of aggression is committed against Russia and its allies."
April 20, 2022 - Vladimir Putin: “[The new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads] will force all who are trying to threaten our country in the heat of frenzied, aggressive rhetoric to think twice."
Feb 29, 2024 - Vladimir Putin: “They must understand that we also have weapons that can hit targets on their territory... All this really threatens a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons and the destruction of civilization. Don’t they get that?”
March 12, 2024 - Vladimir Putin declared that weapons like nukes "exist in order to use them".
A chilling nuclear war simulator has also revealed how a Russian nuclear strike could trigger a global conflict - killing 35 million people in just a matter of hours.
The model predicts a catastrophic war escalating from an initial Russian nuclear strike, which quickly draws in other powers.
Known as "Plan A", the four-minute animation aims to highlight the horrific potential consequences of conflict between Russia and NATO countries as all nations would fire strikes against one another.
The model predicts that almost 35 million people would die within hours - many of those in the first 45 minutes.
The trigger-happy tyrant has even started talking about how he could deploy nukes in space, saying that Russia can be "proud" of its work on a "nuclear power plant... for operation in space".
A bombshell warning from US intelligence in February suggested Vlad could be hoping to arm his existing anti-satellite weapon with nukes and launch it into space.
Last year, Putin was said to be readying a deadly 20,000mph "meteorite" hypersonic missile for combat.
Baranchik earlier this year urged an attack on a British Type 45 Destroyer after Ukraine impressively sunk Putin's beloved Novocherkassk landing ship.
He wrote on Telegram: "First, a message from a Russian official blamed Britain for the sinking of the Novocherkassk large landing ship.
"You need to look at the flight range of the carriers—and hit the British destroyer Diamond with two 'daggers.'
"Do it yourself. And officially declare that Russia's patience with the antics of the West is over. London will run to complain to the USA."
The Kremlin is currently building £330,000 worth of nuclear shelters for Russia's major cities - in case of nuclear war.
The KUB-M "mobile modular shelters" are designed to protect those sheltering inside for 48 hours from air shock waves and light radiation caused by a nuke explosion.
It protects “not only from the light radiation of a nuclear explosion, but also from radioactive contamination”.
And Putin's number one crony, deputy Dmitry Medvedev, has insisted the nuclear threats to come out of the president's office are not empty warnings.
The despot's mouthpiece said today that constant nuclear war rhetoric is “not intimidation or a nuclear bluff”.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
“There is a constant escalation in the power of applicable NATO weapons.
“Therefore, today no one can rule out the transition of the conflict to its final stage.”
7
7
7
Topics