Major General of Aviation Vladimir Popov, Vladimir Putin’s biggest mouthpiece, sparked all-out war fears by responding to NATO’s plans to strike Russia in a “more aggressive way” this week.
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Major General of Aviation Vladimir Popov, Vladimir Putin’s biggest mouthpiece, sparked all-out war fears by responding to NATO’s plans to strike Russia in a “more aggressive way” this week. He claimed such plans could lead to “full-scale nuclear war” – but if that does happen, and bombs start dropping in the UK, where should we avoid?
A national security expert and ex-Air Force nuclear protection specialist, Gene Sticco, whose duties included safeguarding USAF Personnel, Aircraft and Nuclear Weapon Systems, was decorated with the Nuclear Deterrence Operations Service Medal with ‘N’ Device and achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant before his honourable discharge in 1991.
In an exclusive interview with the Mirror, the former security specialist claimed there were three specific towns and cities in the UK people should avoid. And while he didn’t name the naval base in Faslane, near Helensburgh, he said anywhere near the US and NATO facilities is vulnerable.
Gene Sticco named three places in the UK to avoid in the event of World War Three(Image: Gene Sticco)
As Faslane is the home of the UK’s nuclear deterrent it is of critical importance to the NATO alliance’s defence strategy
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He said: “Certainly anywhere near the US and NATO facilities. Otherwise, the key military centres – Telford, Plymouth, South Yorkshire, and the South East and South West of England.”
More specifically, he was asked to name the city or town in the UK he believed an adversary would likely strike if it launched an attack tomorrow. He replied: “Naval centres – this is the UK’s strength and lifeline. Strike at Plymouth and Barrow-in-Furness.”
HMNB Devonport, the UK’s biggest naval base, is situated in Plymouth. Meanwhile, in the Shropshire town of Telford sits a large Ministry of Defence site (Donnington) which acts as a major logistics centre for the British Armed Forces.
Barrow-in-Furness boasts the only facility in the UK that designs and builds nuclear submarines for the Royal Navy – BAE Systems Submarine Solutions shipyard.
Gene was asked to name the place he believed an adversary would likely strike(Image: Gene Sticco)
Speaking to Moscow newspaper Moskovskij Komsomolets, Major General of Aviation Vladimir Popov warned that there “will be consequences” for any state that uses Storm Shadow missiles.
He said: “If a military officer makes such statements, it means operational planning is already underway. Because NATO headquarters is engaged in planning operational-strategic missions, not launching, say, a single tactical missile.
“In this case, we could be talking about planning a massive or group strike on Russian territory, for example, using Storm Shadow missiles. But we must understand that there will be consequences for any state that uses these missiles. Poland, Romania, or even Germany could theoretically do so. But that would be World War 3.”
In further comments, he alleged that NATO would be “stupid” to launch an attack on the Kaliningrad region in Russia, but also believes the alliance “is ready” for such a pre-emptive strike.
