Russia raises red flag, says US nukes' return to UK soil a 'step towards escalation'

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned over the potential return of US nuclear weapons to British soil. While speaking during a news briefing, she said that such a move would be seen as a "step towards escalation".

"If this step is ever made, we will view it as escalation, as a step toward escalation that would take things to a direction that is quite opposite to addressing the pressing issue of pulling all nuclear weapons out of European countries," she said. Some media reports have said that US nukes would return to the UK after a 15-year hiatus.

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Zakharova's comments were in response to reports indicating an item in the 2024 US Air Force budget. This allocation, as per media reports, is for the construction of a dormitory at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, designated for personnel involved in a "potential surety mission." This term is reportedly a military jargon referring to nuclear safety and security operations.

Potential escalation

Zakharova strongly warned against any such move by the US and called it a destabilising practice. She said that it entails joint planning and regular practice for nuclear attacks on Russian targets from non-nuclear European nations. The Russian diplomat also pledged to intensify efforts to demand the return of all US nuclear weapons to American territory. She argued that this step should precede the dismantling of infrastructure enabling the deployment of such weapons in Europe.

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“In the context of the transition of the United States and NATO to an openly confrontational course of inflicting a ‘strategic defeat’ on Russia, this practice and its development force us to take compensating countermeasures designed to reliably protect the security interests of our country and its allies," she said.

Nuclear weapons

According to estimates by the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), the US currently has approximately 100 B61 gravity bombs deployed in Europe, with an additional 100 B61s in storage within the United States. If the US were to return nuclear weapons to Lakenheath, they would likely be modernised versions of the B61.

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FAS data indicates that Russia possesses 1,816 tactical (non-strategic) nuclear weapons, which have historically been stored in facilities. However, in June, Vladimir Putin announced plans to deploy some of these nuclear warheads in Belarus, although there has been no Western intelligence confirmation of such movement to date.

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