UK reported to be secretly preparing for Russian attack and updating its defence plan

The Telegraph has learned that the United Kingdom is secretly preparing for a direct military attack by Russia. An updated classified homeland defence plan will determine the strategy for the first few days after a strike on UK territory by a hostile foreign state.

Source: European Pravda with reference to The Telegraph

Details: Officials have been instructed to update 20-year-old contingency plans that would put the country on a war footing following threats of attack from the Kremlin.

A secret dossier will outline how the government would respond to a declaration of war, including bunkers to protect the government and the Royal Family, public service broadcasts and the stockpiling of resources.

Ministers fear that the UK would not only be outgunned by Russia and its allies on the battlefield but would also be unprepared and poorly defended within the country.

The Kremlin has repeatedly threatened Britain with a direct attack because of its support of Ukraine.

Experts have warned that the country is vulnerable to attacks on critical national infrastructure, including gas terminals, undersea cables, nuclear power plants and transport hubs.

The updated classified homeland defence plan will include scenarios in which the UK is hit by conventional missiles, nuclear warheads or cyber attacks, which were a limited threat when the plan was last significantly updated in 2005.

Military strategies for the rail and road networks, courts, the postal system and telephone lines are expected to be considered. It is unlikely that this document will be made public in the coming decades, if at all.

A risk assessment published in January said a successful attack could result in the deaths of civilians and members of the emergency services, cause serious economic damage and disrupt vital services.

The new UK plan is modelled on the War Book, a secret Cold War dossier containing instructions on how the government should respond to a nuclear strike, which was later published in the National Archives.

The War Book contained evacuation plans for the prime minister and key members of the government, who would have been taken to a bunker in the Cotswolds in the event that London was bombed. Queen Elizabeth II would have fled on the royal yacht.

Background:

• UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on 25 February that from 2027, British funding for international aid would be cut from 0.5% to 0.3% of gross national income to finance increased defence spending.
• This should allow the country to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP.

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