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According to The Telegraph, the United States intends to deploy nuclear weapons to the United Kingdom for the first time in 15 years.
The revelation comes as NATO and Russia’s tensions over the Ukraine conflict rise, and some Western leaders advocate for preparations for a possible armed conflict with Moscow.
The British tabloid highlighted procurement contracts for a new facility at the Royal Air Force station at Lakenheath in Suffolk, implying that Washington intends to transfer nuclear weapons to the base. According to the Telegraph, RAF Lakenheath is expected to hold B61-12 bombs three times more destructive than those dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. Last year, the US dispatched nuclear-capable F-35 warplanes to the base.
Last year, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed Moscow would be forced to take “compensatory countermeasures” if American nuclear missiles were returned to Britain. Russia has accused the West of inciting tensions in Europe, claiming that NATO’s eastward expansion is one of the core reasons of the Ukraine conflict.
High-ranking European officials, notably German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, have warned about the necessity to prepare for a possible war with Russia. Admiral Rob Bauer, leader of NATO’s Military Committee, urged the bloc last week to be “readier across the whole spectrum” for direct confrontation.
Sergey Naryshkin, the chief of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, denied rumours that Moscow was plotting an operation against NATO as “information warfare”
