Russian propagandists have been caught brazenly discussing the possibility of launching "nuclear or non-nuclear" strikes on the UK and any country seizing vessels part of the country's so-called shadow fleet. Kremlin propagandists on state-controlled TV threatened that if Sir Keir Starmer carries out his threat to board and arrest Moscow-linked vessels in UK waters, Russia would "destroy any ship that tries to enter British ports".
On the prime-time TV show, Putin mouthpiece Vladimir Solovyov said: "Why don't we, for example, say that any country that tries to seize a ship, and we don't care which one, will be subjected to a nuclear, or non-nuclear, missile strike by us?" Fellow propagandist and historian Andrey Sidorov then endorsed the blowing up of SS Richard Montgomery, an American Liberty ship that sank, while loaded with explosives, in the Thames Estuary near Sheerness.
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Sidorov said: “Do you understand what kind of wave there will be?”
Solovyov added: “We’ll blow it up well. Why be so nervous? Who's stopping you, buy equipment, go blow things up?"
“We can say that we are closing shipping around Britain. We will destroy any ship that tries to enter British ports,” Solovyov also said. "We have missiles, we don’t need to surround anything.”
Last month, it was revealed that the UK Government had authorised the Royal Navy and special forces to board and seize tankers in Russia's "shadow fleet" carrying oil through British waters to fund the war in Ukraine.
Sir Keir’s policy, announced in late March, aims to curb nearly 700 vessels circumventing sanctions and disrupt the funding of Russia's war machine and make the English Channel less profitable for Russia. Since the announcement, several vessels have altered course to avoid the English Channel, with some loitering near critical subsea infrastructure.
Russian ambassador to Britain Andrey Kelin had already warned Britain: “The escalation of tensions is spreading to the highly sensitive maritime region of the English Channel, where over 500 civilian and military vessels transit daily.
“Launching an exercise there using force is not only irresponsible but also explosive.”
Solovyov claimed Russia could call Sir Keir’s bluff, accusing him of threatening piracy in scheming to board and detain Putin’s shadow fleet vessels. He also argued Russia could deploy the untested high-speed Poseidon underwater drone - powered by its own atomic reactor - allegedly capable of triggering radioactive tidal waves which could submerge swathes of Britain.
“The main thing is to remove our embassy and [use] Poseidon,” said Solovyov, whose children were educated at expensive private schools in Britain. "It's high time to create a cleansing bath over all of Britain."
He also claimed the Iran war had shown NATO’s impotence, describing the bloc as a "pathetic, insignificant, cardboard cut-out" that will be "wiped out".