LIKE a hot knife through butter, the Storm Shadow missile punctured the reinforced hull of the Russian submarine just before its warhead exploded.
Fired from Ukraine into occupied Crimea in 2023, the British-French weapon had taken out the £220million, 3,100-ton Rostov-on-Don.
10
10
It was a show of clinical military might that proved the cruise missile could help unpick the bloody stalemate on Ukraine’s battlefields.
So when Andy Burnham handed President Volodymyr Zelensky the secret blueprints for the Storm Shadow recently, Russia reacted with fury — and menacing sabre-rattling.
Kremlin mouthpiece Andrei Fedorov, a Russian former deputy foreign minister, darkly warned that Britain could face a “a semi-military response” from “unknown sources”.
So how could Russia unleash its vengeance on Britain?
Read More on World News
UNDER ATTACK
Explosives found near German power grid after mystery fire & ‘rocket’ attack
CHILDREN OF WAR
Russian schoolgirls wield guns & storm enemy buildings in chilling drills
And who are the mysterious “unknown sources” that Fedorov claimed could launch such an attack?
A security source has warned that it is “inevitable” that Putin will order retribution on Britain for its continued support of Ukraine.
The source said: “The question being asked is, ‘How long do we keep poking the bear before it bites?’
“An attack on the UK’s defence and security infrastructure is inevitable, based on our high-profile support for Ukraine.
Most read in The Sun
‘TOXIC NARCISSIST’
Killer, 35, who strangled & stabbed partner to death is jailed for life
PRICEY MISTAKE
Moment £3.3m Bugatti Tourbillon prototype is smashed into by £20k Polo
FEELING LUCKY?
Winning Set For Life numbers for Monday September 7 £10k a month jackpot
SICKO JAILED
Ex-teacher, 32, who played ‘game’ with boys, 9, involving toothbrush jailed
10
10
“Russia will want to make a statement, through actions rather than words. That could be a drone attack or an arson attack.
“There are Russian sleeper cells in this country that could do either.”
The nerve-jangling showdown with Putin is a baptism of fire for Britain’s new Prime Minister, who is a foreign policy novice.
Burnham’s pledge to hand over the classified Storm Shadow blueprints will allow Ukraine to build the missiles on their own territory.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded by insisting Russia saw the move “extremely negatively”.
He added: “Britain is methodically and regularly adding fuel to the fire and methodically and regularly plotting to prevent any progress in the peace process.”
To his credit, Burnham stood his ground, responding: “Who started the fire? That’s the question, isn’t it?”
Further evidence of a deterioration in Anglo-Russian relations emerged at the end of last month when it was confirmed the Kremlin had withdrawn its London ambassador.
10
10
In Kyiv for Independence Day on August 24, Burnham strummed The Smiths’ track Rusholme Ruffians on guitar as Ukrainian soldiers looked on.
The mood was darker 600 miles away in Moscow the next day when CIA chief John Ratcliffe’s US air force Globemaster transport plane touched down at Vnukovo International Airport.
America’s top spy had come with a stark warning for President Vladimir Putin: Don’t attack Nato countries.
New US intelligence suggested that Russia might try to test Nato’s resolve with a limited attack on a member nation in the coming years.
Mired in Ukraine and under pressure at home, the CIA is worried Putin might be tempted to launch a small land incursion — perhaps in the Baltics — or crippling cyber attack.
Russia also sniffs a weakness in the alliance, with American weapons stockpiles degraded by the Iran War.
Yet Moscow is already waging a shadow war across Europe through cyber and arson attacks, drones and disinformation campaigns.
In December, the chief of MI6, Blaise Metreweli, said that the UK and its allies now occupy “a space between peace and war”.
Describing it as “the grey zone”, our top spy said of Russia’s meddling: “It’s important to understand their attempts to bully, fearmonger and manipulate, because it affects us all.”
And Anne Keast-Butler — boss of government listening post GCHQ — warned in May: “Russia is scaling up its daily hybrid activity against the UK and Europe.”
Military veteran and former MP Bob Seely believes Russia is using the Storm Shadow blueprints spat as an excuse to ratchet up the tensions with Britain.
The author of The New Total War told The Sun: “Storm Shadow’s really effective. But I think one shouldn’t see this as some kind of huge escalation.
10
10
“It’s going to take months, if not years, for the Ukrainians to start to produce their own.
“I think it’s more to do with Putin not having the success on the battlefield that he wants and being in the mood to escalate in some form.
“I think the CIA guy going to Moscow was basically saying, ‘We’re watching you. We know what you’re up to. Don’t do anything dodgy’.”
Seely says Britain is a convenient bogeyman for Russian propaganda as some close to the US administration are “semi-sympathetic” to Russia’s position.
He revealed: “The US is their main protagonist but Putin doesn’t want to make America the main enemy at the moment.
“Britain is now their number one enemy. There is a long history of cold wars between the two nations, stretching back to the 1820s.”
The former Conservative MP suggests Russia could target Britain with a “grey zone” attack which is insufficient to trigger Nato’s Article 5 “an attack on one is an attack on all” policy.
He added: “What you’re looking at is sabotage or the blowing up of undersea cables.
10
10
“So 95 per cent of our information comes into the country via 65 internet cables. Blow up ten of them and it causes real problems.
“They may try to do something sub-Article 5, such as an assassination or a cyber attack that shuts down, for example, the NHS for two weeks and a few hundred people lose their lives.
“Or maybe sink UK-related shipping somewhere — something in the grey zone that is difficult to prove who is ultimately responsible.”
Russia has form for attacking Britain from the shadows using paid proxies.
In 2024, the Russian mercenary group Wagner hired British men on the Telegram social media app to set fire to a warehouse in Leyton, East London, providing aid to Ukraine.
And this June, two Ukrainian-born men were jailed for torching two properties and a car linked to then-Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
The attacks were orchestrated from inside Russia by a shadowy figure known as El Money whose identity and ultimate boss is unknown.
In April, two Russian fighter jets buzzed an RAF Rivet Joint intelligence-gathering plane over the Black Sea.
A Russian Su-27 warplane carried out six passes in front of the RAF aeroplane, getting as close as six metres from its nose.
And in June, the Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich fired warning shots close to a yacht being sailed by retired couple Alan and Jane Kelvey in the English Channel.
Russia could also launch cyber attacks on Britain.
Mark Galeotti, Honorary Professor at University College London School of Slavonic and East European Studies, identifies Russia as a “safe haven” for cyber criminals — as long as they target the West.
He said: “A tacit agreement is in place. Gangs running hacker attacks against British companies, blackmail scams, online ‘phishing’ operations and other types of cyber crime will be free to act without interference.
“And if Western agencies attempt to crack down, the Russian state will do all it can to block our efforts. Moscow will deny all knowledge of the gangs.”
Russia’s threat to the UK comes as Burnham’s government struggles to find extra cash to bolster Britain’s beleaguered armed forces.
Former military leaders and MPs have called for Britain to spend three per cent on defence by 2030.
Currently, that figure is due to reach just 2.68 per cent — and £4.7billion of that spend remains unfunded.
RECOMMENDED STORIES
Bob Seely said: “We haven’t got the deterrence capability we once had, and that’s now coming back to bite us.”
Never has the old roman adage “if you want peace, prepare for war” been more apt.