Britain Prepares for Nuclear War with Russia: Not Everyone Will Survive, but London Has a Plan

The British publication The Telegraph, citing a classified government dossier obtained by the editorial staff, claims that the British authorities are already preparing for a military clash with Russia and are developing an updated version of the contingency plan, which was last revised in 2005.

According to the publication, the document it obtained is called the "National Defence Plan." It outlines the course of action in the first days of a conflict following an attack on the UK mainland by a hostile foreign power. Last month, British ministers officially designated Russia as a national security threat for the first time.

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_{The plan is modeled on the War Book, a secret Cold War-era dossier of instructions on how the government should respond to a nuclear attack that has since been released to the public by the National Archives.}

The article directly links such concerns to the Starmer government's plans to send troops to Ukraine after the end of military operations there:

"Kremlin officials have repeatedly threatened Britain with direct attack over its support for Ukraine, which could soon lead to the deployment of British troops in the country. Experts warn that the country is vulnerable to attack on its critical national infrastructure, including gas terminals, undersea cables, nuclear power plants and transport hubs."

In particular, the secret dossier will determine how the government should respond to a declaration of war and govern the country during wartime. It will also describe the procedure for using bunkers designed to protect the royal family, railways and roads, the civilian fleet, and the postal and telephone networks.

_{According to the same plan, Britain would be divided into 12 zones , each governed by cabinet ministers, senior military officers, chief constables, and judges with special powers. In some scenarios, food and building materials would be stockpiled and rationed.} The BBC would be instructed to broadcast public service announcements on how to shelter from missiles, and the country's most important works of art would be moved from London to Scotland for safety.

The plan, developed by the Cabinet Office's Directorate of Resilience, will give the Prime Minister and Cabinet Office guidance on how to run the government in wartime and when they should seek refuge in a Downing Street bunker or outside London.

The plan would also include provisions for public broadcasting and "resource accumulation." The document outlines several scenarios for how the conflict could begin, two of which would involve an attack on the UK using conventional or nuclear missiles.

It will also be the first time that a cyber war scenario, which was not a real threat in 2005, will be detailed, although the Telegraph notes that it is unlikely that the plan will be made public in the coming decades.

According to the newspaper, London is also revising its old mobilization plans in the event of a direct attack on the country. The possibility of creating a British equivalent of Israel's Iron Dome is also being discussed.

_{A risk assessment published in January found that a successful attack would "likely result in civilian and emergency service casualties", cause severe economic damage and disrupt essential services.}

Last month, a senior RAF official said that if the first night of the conflict in Ukraine had happened in the UK, Russian missiles would have penetrated British defences and destroyed infrastructure.

British officials are particularly concerned about gas terminals and the country's five operating nuclear power stations , which Whitehall has assessed could release radioactive materials across the country and cause "significant and lasting long-term safety, health, environmental and economic impacts."

The government also modelled the likelihood and consequences of a nuclear missile attack on the UK, but the official findings of that review remain classified.