Russia's horror WW3 threat to strike 16 UK locations - 'crap yourself with fear'

A close ally of Vladimir Putin has issued a stark warning to Europeans after a series of drone sightings forced flights to be suspended. Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chair of Russia’s National Security Council and former Russian president and prime minister, said the incidents should make Europeans grasp the real risk of war.

The disruption began when at least 17 flights were grounded at Munich airport following multiple drone detections in nearby airspace. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz suggested Russia might be responsible for the incidents. Medvedev, while listing several possible explanations for the panic over so-called Russian drones, stressed that the point was not who sent them but the lesson Europe should take from the scare.

Medvedev wrote that short-sighted Europeans must personally feel the danger of war so they “fear and tremble like animals driven to slaughter,” and added that they should “crap themselves with fear.” His language has amplified worries across the continent about how quickly tensions could escalate.

The warnings come amid reports that list multiple sites across the United Kingdom that could be in Russia’s crosshairs. The Financial Times, after reviewing leaked Russian military files dated between 2008 and 2014, mapped several suspected targets, noting they were included in a presentation to military officers prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The documents reportedly single out locations ranging from Cumbria to Plymouth. One potential target in Cumbria was linked to the Royal Navy submarine shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness, while another entry pointed to Rosyth in the Edinburgh area, where the Royal Navy carriers HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales were assembled. A Hull factory was also named in the material.

Although those files are more than a decade old, analysts argue they remain relevant given the current global climate. Additional commentary on Russian state media escalated the rhetoric further. Prominent Kremlin supporter Vladimir Solovyov suggested that elite British institutions, naming Oxford and Cambridge, should be struck to harm the nation’s leadership and academic institutions.

Throughout 2024 and into 2025, intelligence and defense reporting has hinted at continued Russian interest in expanding its list of potential targets in the UK. Media coverage and intelligence sources have named military towns with historic defense ties, including Aldershot, Colchester and Portsmouth, alongside other locations in Wiltshire such as Tidworth and Salisbury. Former Ukrainian official Anton Gerashchenko posted warnings in mid-2024 naming major UK cities including London, Birmingham and Manchester and highlighted naval installations like Clyde in Scotland, Chatham Dockyard in Kent, and Plymouth as likely points of focus.

The combination of drone-related airport shutdowns, strong language from senior Russian figures, and the circulation of possible target lists has fed a broader unease in Europe. Whether the recent incidents represent deliberate provocation, misidentification, or something else remains contested, but the episode has certainly intensified debate about airspace security, strategic vulnerability, and the risk of further escalation between Russia and Western countries.