What would happen minute-by-minute if Putin launched nukes on UK

2 weeks ago 7

Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Putin has become increasingly brazen with threats to use nuclear weapons (Image: Getty )

Vladmir Putin and his Kremlin cronies are increasingly making threats about using Russia's vast nuclear arsenal against Britain and the West. One of Putin's closest allies, Sergei Karaganov, the honorary chairman of the Russian Council for Foreign and Defence Policy, declared this week the "European contagion must be eradicated".

TV propagandist Vladimir Solovyov, who regularly spouts atomic weapon threats against the UK, grinned on Russia national TV as he gloated historic university cities of Oxford and Cambridge could be bombed, so as to crush the British elite.

The ranting pair painted a disturbing picture at a time when the Doomsday Clock, the official measure of how close the world is to nuclear war, is set at 89 seconds to midnight, with midnight being the point of global atomic disaster. During the height of the Cold War, Britons relied on the United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation (UKWMO) to warn them of an imminent nuclear attack.

The so-called four-minute warning was a public alert system which ran between 1953 and 1992, with the duration derived from the approximate time it would take from the launch of a Soviet nuclear missile to its impact on targets in the UK.

A nuclear bomb explodes

Nuclear bombs can cause devastation for miles and wipe out major cities (Image: Getty )

Today, Ministry of Defence (MoD) continue to monitor Russian nuclear threats and the UK Government recently tested a national Emergency Alerts system which pings a message to every mobile phone in the country. A test of the system was carried out on September 7 this year.

However, the mobile system has not been specifically mentioned in relation to an attack from a hostile foreign power. It is for the moment said to be mostly for covering immediate threats to life, such as from weather events.

However, Dr Arnab Basu, CEO of Kromek Group plc, told the Mirror: "If a nuclear strike were launched on a UK city, residents would likely be given some warning. For those outside the immediate blast zone, the priority is to get to shelter quickly, ideally the most central part of a building. Seal windows and doors with tape to reduce radioactive dust entering.

"Fill every possible container with water, such as sinks and bathtubs, as water supplies are likely to be contaminated after the explosion."

Express.co.uk has taken a look at some of the factors to consider should the nightmare of a nuclear attack become a reality.

A map showing Cambridge being hit by a nuke

If an atomic weapon exploded in Cambridge it would wipe out the historic city (Image: NukeMap/Nuclear Secrecy)

Grim map

NuclearSecrecy.com has created frightening Nuke Map tool, which aims to give a fair estimate of the potential damage caused by nuclear weapons. The brainchild of Alex Wellerstein, a science and nuclear weapons professor at the Stevens Institute of Technology, site users can 'trial' various horrifying tools, including a formidable 800-kiloton nuke known to be currently sitting in Russia's arsenal.

The consequences of dropping this weapon over Cambridge, as jested about by Solovyov, would be nothing short of catastrophic. The nuclear fireball would engulf a radius of 1.1 square miles, including the suburbs of Grantchester, Milton and Teversham, and the University's main campus.

As claimed by the Nuke Map: "Maximum size of the nuclear fireball; relevance to damage on the ground depends on the height of detonation. If it touches the ground, the amount of radioactive fallout is significantly increased. Anything inside the fireball is effectively vaporised."

The second zone, which would see "moderate blast damage radius", would cover an area of 51 square miles. Within this site, buildings would begin to collapse, and fires would break out. As explained by this terrifying map: "At 5 psi overpressure, most residential buildings collapse, injuries are universal, fatalities are widespread.

"The chances of a fire starting in commercial and residential damage are high, and buildings so damaged are at high risk of spreading fire. Often used as a benchmark for moderate damage in cities.”

The third zone, with an area of 148 miles2, would also be severely impacted, with the nuke map stating: “Third degree burns extend throughout the layers of skin, and are often painless because they destroy the pain nerves. They can cause severe scarring or disablement, and can require amputation."

'Safest' places

The International Commission on Radiological Protection ICRP states: "The best way to protect you and your family before, during, and after a nuclear blast is getting inside the centre of a building or basement.

"On August 6, 1945, Mr Eizo Nomura was in the basement of a building in Hiroshima, about 170 meters from ground zero. He survived the atomic bombing and died in 1982 at the age of 84. Most people within a few hundred metres of a nuclear detonation are not likely to survive, especially if unprepared.

"Be inside before the fallout arrives. After a detonation, you will have 10 minutes or more to find an adequate shelter before fallout arrives. If a multi-story building or a basement can be safely reached within a few minutes of the explosion, go there immediately. The safest buildings have brick or concrete walls. Underground parking garages and subways can also provide good shelter."

Given this advice, many would naturally assume that London, with its extensive underground network, would be the safest place, with the tube tunnels having allowed some protection from blasts during the dark days of the Blitz.

However, some experts fear that modern nuclear weapons could penetrate much further than the bombs of World War II, meaning even the 58-metre-deep Hampstead station would still be too close to the surface.

Andrew Futter, a Professor of International Politics at the University of Leicester, previously told My London that the Underground "probably wouldn't be deep enough if there was a direct hit".

A Soviet missile being launched

Nuclear missiles launched from Russia are more than capable of hitting the UK (Image: AP)

Putin's 'chilling three-step plan'

Back in 2024, Professor Anthony Glees, from the University of Buckingham, spoke with the Mirror about the possibility of World War III, should Russia escalate tensions, offering his predications.

Professor Glees warned: "If the next war is a nuclear war, it will be up and running in hours and over in hours. There will be no winners, only losers."

The expert expressed his belief that tyrant Putin "will have become suicidal", proceeding to "attack a number of key sites in the UK and continental Europe, almost certainly without warning and without an ultimatum". Offering a bleak analysis, he shared: "There will be no time for anyone to do very much except prepare for deep impact extinction as best they can.

"However, if it is, as I believe, not going to be a nuclear war, then not only do things look very different, but it is entirely credible to argue it has already started."

With this in mind, Professor Glees predicted that the next World War would progress through three stages, beginning with threats from Russia, with Putin piling pressure on all post-1997 NATO members. If his attempts to "subvert our democratic system" prove unsuccessful, he would then move onto stage two -a "war of attrition", which would be fought with conventional weapons.

According to the expert, such a conflict would follow a "WW2-inspired blueprint" which would leave Brits struggling without adequate food or fuel. The professor predicted: "We would run out of fresh food in days. A massive Russian cyber attack on our critical national infrastructure would mean we can't get cash out of our bank accounts, we cannot pay bills, we might not get electricity, gas, and -if Putin wanted -he could try to turn out the lights."

He continued: "Petrol and diesel would be virtually unobtainable for ordinary people. Medicines would quickly be subject to severe rationing and would soon disappear altogether. Although we would hope the EU would continue to supply us with food, we would have to rely on the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, especially if much of Western Europe were to fall under Russian control. We would quickly see a black market for home-produced food and clothing."

Stage three, in Professor Glees' opinion, would see the establishment of "a British Quisling government" within a month, with Britain becoming a "Russian colony" within a year. According to Professor Glees, this would see the UK "run like Russia, with a secret police and forced labour camps for anyone showing the least opposition to the Russian regime", complete with Russian language being taught in our schools, and Russian or pro-Russian Quislings running public institutions.

He added: "The Royal Family would go to Canada and resistance leaders would try to establish a following from secret bases in Wales and Scotland."

Food and water supplies

Professor Glees also previously spoke with the Mirror about how much food and water Brits would need in the event of World War III, urging the UK government to follow in the footsteps of countries such as Sweden, Finland, and Norway, which have all issued survival guides advising the public how to endure such conflicts.

Considering the worst possible option, Professor Glees told us: "Everything to date depends on our Vanguard subs in a decade to be Dreadnought subs and their Trident nukes. If they are fired, it will be Armageddon day, so no survivors."

However, the expert does view this as "unlikely", instead suggesting: "But if, more likely, there's a conventional attack that's something we can prepare for -a week's supply of food, bottled water, paracetamol and loads of emergency Snickers bars as well as battery operated devices and a couple of charging units, loaded for a few days from the electricity supply which will probably be turned off."

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