Commentators at Daily Star have modelled the consequences of a possible Russian nuclear strike on the United Kingdom, using the publicly available online tool NUKEMAP. The outlet stresses that the exercise is not an intelligence assessment, but an illustration of how devastating such a scenario could be.

In their scenario, three precision strikes are directed at key sites of Britain’s defence infrastructure. The main target is identified as the largest naval base in Plymut. Another strike is projected in the Barrow-in-Furness area, where the country’s only shipyard for building nuclear submarines is located.

According to the calculations, three targeted detonations with warheads of 800 kilotons each would result in the deaths of around 259,000 people. The analysis also suggests that thermal radiation and the blast wave would be felt tens and even hundreds of kilometres from the points of impact.

The article notes that such scenarios are being published against a backdrop of increasingly harsh diplomatic rhetoric. Daily Star recalls a recent statement by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who allowed for the possibility of a forceful confrontation. At the same time, the paper points out that the Russian side has repeatedly stated it has no aggressive plans towards Europe.