-Dailymail
LONDON – Andy Burnham has been warned that Britain faces Russian retaliation over its support for Ukraine.
Security experts have told the prime minister to be prepared for a ‘direct response’ from Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin is set to target the UK, sources said, after miscalculating Burnham’s commitment to Kyiv.
Putin had been advised the new incumbent in No.10 would be ‘softer than (Sir Keir) Starmer’.
But the Russian president’s hopes were dashed by the prime minister’s moves to fortify the UK-Ukraine military alliance in recent weeks, swapping missile blueprints and battlefield AI with Moscow’s enemy.
Putin is also believed to be coming under pressure within Russia to challenge Britain’s increasing involvement in the conflict.
The shock alert for the PM came as the head of the US’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) made an emergency visit to Moscow yesterday.
It was reported that Spy Chief John Ratcliffe issued a warning to the Kremlin not to escalate the conflict in Ukraine, either by using a nuclear weapon or targeting Kyiv’s Western allies.
The ‘just don’t do it’ advice was based on US intelligence that Russia is primed to act immediately and dramatically after its campaign on the battlefield stalled again.
UK security chiefs were on Tuesday night primed for a Kremlin attack on Britain – either towards Burnham or by targeting defence sites.
A senior source told the Daily Mail: “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.
“Ourselves and the French are front and centre, and Burnham’s visit to Kyiv and his forthright stance will have been noticed at the Kremlin.
“There had been some optimism in Moscow that he would be softer than Starmer on Ukraine.
“That was not the case. 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 source added: “Russia is testing our security infrastructure on a daily basis… Something bigger is only a matter of time. Russia just needs to keep it low enough to avoid a military response by Nato.”
Other sources said that Russia’s sudden withdrawal of its ambassador to London was being taken as a sign that ‘something big is coming’.
Major UK defence manufacturers participating in weapons production are stepping up their physical security and adopting measures to prevent cyber attacks. A Kremlin adviser brazenly suggested factories producing drones for Ukraine could be targeted by ‘unknown sources’.
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