Russian navy prepares to strike: Secret documents reveal plans for nuclear attacks on Europe
Russia has trained its navy to target sites deep inside Europe using nuclear-capable missiles in a potential conflict with Nato, according to secret files seen by the Financial Times.
Maps of targets as far-flung as the west coast of France and Barrow-in-Furness in the UK are detailed in a presentation for officers that predates the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.The FT has previously reported from the same cache of 29 secret Russian military files that Moscow had rehearsed using tactical nuclear weapons in the early stages of a conflict with a major world power.
The latest revelations show how Russia envisioned a conflict with the west reaching well beyond its immediate Nato frontier, planning for a series of overwhelming strikes across western Europe. The documents were shown to the FT by western sources.
The files, drawn up between 2008 and 2014, include a target list for missiles that can carry either conventional warheads or tactical nuclear weapons. Russian officers highlight the advantages of using nuclear strikes at an early stage.
The presentation also indicates that Russia has retained the capability to carry nuclear weapons on surface ships, a capacity that experts said carries significant extra risks of escalation or accidents.
The document notes the navy’s “high manoeuvrability” allows it to conduct “sudden and pre-emptive blows” and “massive missile strikes . . . from various directions”. It adds that nuclear weapons are “as a rule” designated for use “in combination with other means of destruction” to achieve Russia’s goals.
Analysts who reviewed the documents said they were consistent with how Nato assessed the threat of long-range missile strikes by the Russian navy and the speed with which Russia would probably resort to nuclear use.
The maps, which were made for presentational purposes rather than operational use, illustrate a sample of 32 Nato targets in Europe for Russia’s naval fleets.
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