The British authorities intend to significantly increase the number of nuclear warheads in the country's arsenal. Konstantin Blokhin, a leading researcher at the Center for Security Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences, commented on these plans on the air of Sputnik radio.
The United Kingdom plans to increase the number of nuclear warheads in the arsenal of its armed forces by 40%, The Guardian newspaper writes, citing a comprehensive review of the security and foreign policy of the Kingdom, which is published by the government of the country.
In particular, the number of nuclear warheads used in Trident II missiles on British submarines will be increased from the current 180 to 260 units. It is planned to allocate about ten billion pounds for this purpose.
As the newspaper notes, the build-up of nuclear potential in the kingdom is planned to be carried out for the first time since the Cold War. According to the author of the article, the reason for this was the rapprochement of Russia with China.
Konstantin Blokhin, a leading researcher at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, commented on these plans on Sputnik radio.
"The UK is following a parallel course with the United States in its foreign policy, and this course is not hidden. This is the "containment" of Russia. In the nineties and noughties, the West, in fact, did not deal with its nuclear weapons. Western countries, primarily the United States, rested on their laurels. They declared it the end of history, thinking that the unipolar era had arrived. However, polycentrism is growing in the world, and the United States, together with its allies, the United Kingdom, with which it has a special relationship, is trying to modernize its nuclear forces. This requires large financial resources. It is not so easy to explain to a British citizen that in the conditions of the coronavirus, it is necessary to spend more on the military-industrial complex. Therefore, such "reasons" are a good way to justify your spending, " Konstantin Blokhin said.
He noted that the West would very much like to involve Russia and China in a nuclear arms race.
"It is clear that a nuclear war with a country like Russia is likely to be the last in the history of mankind. But the UK's plans are an indicator of the arms race that has begun, their task is to impose this race on us and China in order to pull off the same trick as with the Soviet Union: to try to bankrupt us, to supplement this with sanctions pressure and total demonization, " the political scientist said.
