British spies have added two more towns to make nine targets that Vladimir Putin would aim for if war breaks out with Russia.
Intelligence sources have warned that the two further locations in southern England are now on the list for long-range Russian bombers. But while the names have not been given, the insider confirmed that one of the towns "has military links" and the other doesn't.
It is likely that towns with historical connections to the Armed Forces, such as Aldershot, Colchester and Portsmouth, are already on the list, other options range from Chatham, Kent to Tidworth and Salisbury in Wiltshire.
The up-to-date list - the most complete ever held by British intelligence services - was passed to a British intelligence officer in Eastern Europe by a Russian agent. As well as laying out the targets, it reveals details of which military airfields Russian bombers would fly from and the number of aircraft allocated to the operation.
"The information includes details of a high-level attack in addition to a low-level strike," said a Whitehall source, reported the Express. The idea, the source added, was possibly to distract the RAF's Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) teams with a feint, before quickly following it up with the real attack.
"A Russian airstrike on UK soil would, of course, be a declaration of war, both on the UK and on the rest of NATO," added the insider. It comes after Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said in January that the world is moving "from a post-war to pre-war world".
Gen Sir Patrick Sanders, who is leaving his role as head of the British army, warned that the UK might have to fight against Russia in a few years. He called it our "1937 moment" and NATO experts think Putin has started his plan to use force to control much of Europe. But even if Russia wanted to attack the UK by itself, it looks like they would have to wait until they are done fighting with Ukraine.
Britain has two QRA bases to protect us from attacks in the sky: RAF Coningsby in the east and RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland. Putin brought back a Cold War strategy in 2005 by sending Russian bombers and spy planes near British skies on a frequent basis. This made the RAF send out Typhoon fighter jets from QRA to force them away from the UK Air Defence Region.
In 2007, there were 19 times the RAF had to rush out, while in 2020, it was 11 times because of Russian planes near our airspace and last year this only happened six times which could be due to Russia's concentration on the war in Ukraine.