- Russia is poised to attack Britain – and has singled out a drone factory and a missile company as 'legal targets', it was claimed last night.
A senior adviser to Vladimir Putin warned that the 'highest levels of the Russian government' were considering a 'hybrid attack', such as sabotage or arson, rather than an 'outright military strike' that would unleash a response from Nato.
In an exclusive interview with The Mail on Sunday, Andrei Fedorov, a former deputy foreign minister of Russia, described the UK as 'evil number one'.
Among the Kremlin's targets is a drone factory owned by a British-Ukrainian firm, Ukrspecsystems.
Details of the company's premises next to RAF Mildenhall, in West Suffolk, were made public in April alongside five other European firms that make weapons and drones for Ukraine in its war against Russia.
On Saturday night, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said: 'The reckless rhetoric and attempts at intimidation we have seen from the Kremlin in recent weeks reflects the weakness of Putin's position and we will not be intimidated.
'This has been a bad year for Putin. The front line has barely moved. Russian casualties continue to mount. The Russian people are paying a heavy price for Putin's war.
'It is also in our national interest that Putin's aggression must not be rewarded. The Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary and I are working together to mobilise support for Ukraine ahead of winter.'
The threat comes as:
Bosses of British defence companies have been warned they could be targets of Russian hybrid attacks;
A pro-Kremlin war channel suggested that a Nato base in Estonia with at least 900 British troops should be attacked;
One of the assassins of Russian defector Alexander Litvinenko plans to hold an anti-UK exhibition opposite the British embassy in Moscow;
Britain's ambassador to Russia told officials not to confirm if British weapons are going to Ukraine to prevent an escalation by Putin.
On Saturday, Elisabeth Braw, an exper
