Andy Burnham has today been accused of burying his 'head in the sand' over the threat Russia poses to Britain.
asserted
Russia → accuse → Britain
Lord Richard Dannatt, a former head of the British Army, said the Government is 'not moving fast enough' and 'should be doing more' to bolster its defences.
asserted
Government → say → defences
The veteran commander's intervention came as fears the UK could soon be plunged into a war deepened on Thursday after Britons were told to stockpile three days' worth of food and water.
uncertain
Britons → come → food
Wes Streeting, the Defence Secretary, insisted the guidance would help people to be braced for events such as wildfires, flooding and cyber attacks.
asserted
people → insist → wildfires
But the campaign also comes after senior military figures from across Nato warned Russia was preparing sabotage attacks that could accidentally trigger a major war.
uncertain
that → come → war
Despite the fears, the Prime Minister has refused to say whether he will increase military spending to 3 per cent of GDP by 2030, in line with other Nato allies.
asserted
he → refuse → allies
'The bottom line is that we are very exposed but His Majesty's Government has its collective head firmly in the sand,' Lord Dannatt told the Daily Mail, as he called for action from Downing Street.
asserted
he → expose → Street
As concerns continue to escalate, experts have today outlined the terrifying options tyrant Vladimir Putin has at his disposal to overwhelm Britain's 'brittle' defences, from nuclear missiles and submarines capable of triggering radioactive tsunamis, to swarms of drones that can spy on sensitive military bases.
asserted
that → continue → bases
The Russian leader is already plotting to carry out sabotage attacks across Europe to try and weaken its resolve to support Ukraine, according to senior Western officials.
uncertain
leader → plot → officials
The Kremlin is suspected of being behind covert attacks on several sites in Nato member countries in Europe, including a warehouse in London, a weapons factory in Estonia and a railway in Poland.
asserted
Kremlin → suspect → Poland
Defence sources today signalled Russia could now seek to use its vast 'shadow fleet' of sanctioned oil tankers as floating launch platforms to carry out drone raids against the UK.
uncertain
Russia → signal → UK
Russian President Vladimir Putin, pictured on Thursday, is believed to be targeting the UK
Kamikaze air and sea vehicles could be deployed off the British coastline and used to attack power plants, North Sea oil platforms, or target military bases in targeted strikes designed to be below the threshold to trigger an all-out war, officials said.
uncertain
officials → picture → war
Among the unmanned aircraft that could be used include the Gerbera.
uncertain
that → use → Gerbera
Last month the CIA reportedly claimed Russia was planning to launch such drones from commercial ships in the Mediterranean to attack Italy, Spain or France.
uncertain
Russia → claim → Italy
With a wingspan of 2.5m, they can be easily hidden in cargo containers before being launched by catapult.
asserted
they → hide → catapult
Once airborne, the drones have a range of about 370 miles.
asserted
drones → have → miles
Carrying a relatively small warhead, they could be used to start fires, destroy exposed infrastructure like electricity transformers or disrupt major airports like Gatwick and Heathrow.
uncertain
they → carry → Gatwick
Experts fear Russia's fleet of Geran-3, Geran-4 and Geran-5 jet-powered drones could also be flown from larger shadow fleet oil tankers operating in the North Sea.
uncertain
fleet → fear → Sea
The weapons have already been used to bombard cities across Ukraine.
asserted
weapons → use → Ukraine
Other drones believed to be under consideration for such operations include autonomous underwater submersibles and more rudimentary quadcopters that could be used to gather information on military bases.
uncertain
that → believe → bases
Mr Putin has already been accused of launching drones from his fleet of sanctioned oil tankers to spy on nuclear weapons in Britain, intelligence experts claimed earlier this year.
asserted
experts → accuse → Britain
Russia's newest long-range attack drone, the Garpiya-A1(E) (pictured) has a 620-mile range
The aircraft 'exploited numerous gaps' in air defences during a 'sustained' 15-month campaign by Moscow, according to a report published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
uncertain
aircraft → picture → Studies
Among the military establishments targeted was RAF Lakenheath, a US base in Suffolk that is preparing to host nuclear bombs.
asserted
that → target → bombs
Its airspace was breached in November 2024 alongside three other US sites in England, sparking alarm.
asserted
airspace → breach → alarm
The sightings at the time were dismissed by Western officials.
asserted
sightings → dismiss → officials
However, analysis by IISS has since blamed a sanctioned Russian tanker docked in Hull for launching the drones.
asserted
analysis → blame → drones
Bases across Europe were also spied on, which included a secret submarine HQ at Île Longue in Brittany, northern France, which houses the bulk of the country's nuclear missiles and air bases containing nuclear bombs in Belgium and the Netherlands.
asserted
which → spy → Belgium
'We are vulnerable and we're currently under Russian attack and it's only going to get worse,' Colonel Philip Ingram, a former officer in British military intelligence, warned.
asserted
Ingram → go → intelligence
'Putin sees us as weak militarily and that we cannot threaten them in any shape or form, so he is increasing the attacks in the grey zone.'
Moscow has also been testing its new nuclear-powered 'doomsday' submarine which could soon be ready for action.
uncertain
which → see → action
The Kremlin sent the Khabarovsk attack boat off for sea trials in the White Sea with no fanfare over the summer.
asserted
Kremlin → send → summer
The Daily Mail understands Nato is aware of the boat and has been tracking its recent set of tests.
asserted
Nato → understand → tests
The 10,000-ton submarine has been designed to carry up to six Poseidon nuclear torpedoes on top of its ordinary anti-ship and land-attack missiles.
asserted
submarine → design → missiles
In theory, analysts say, an underwater blast created by Poseidon could drive a massive radioactive surge inland, sending huge tsunami waves that could devastate cities.
uncertain
that → say → cities
However, the boat has faced years of development hell and experts say the nuclear attack submarine is nowhere near being ready for operations.
asserted
submarine → face → operations
And experts have dismissed it as Kremlin propaganda designed to distract the West.
asserted
experts → dismiss → West
The Khabarovsk submarine (pictured) is said to have cost £1billion
asserted
submarine → picture → 1billion
Senior Western officials have also dismissed claims Russia is willing to use nuclear weapons against Europe despite sabre-rattling from the Kremlin in recent months.
uncertain
Russia → dismiss → months
But they have warned that Mr Putin's thirst to launch a sabotage campaign in Europe risks a 'miscalculation' that could accidentally trigger a confrontation with Nato.
uncertain
that → warn → Nato
'The appetite of Russia to conduct... sub-threshold or hybrid operations against Nato countries, whether this is sabotage or cyber, is very clear.
asserted
this → conduct → countries
President Putin absolutely wants to avoid a direct confrontation with Nato.
asserted
Putin → want → Nato
…and 78 more, not listed.
The Aporia
