Is Britain at war with Russia? Exact event that could lead UK into conflict explained

With European leaders warning their publics to get ready for an 'intensified threat' from Vladimir Putin's Russia the prospect of a major war appears closer than before.

Earlier this week Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned that Russia was planning on launching drone strikes on European countries that were supplying Ukraine in their attempts to resist Putin's invasion of their country 'in the next few months'.

Tusk warned that Russia would pretend the attacks were 'accidental' to 'paralyze or at least weaken the motivation of NATO countries', he said in a speech to Poland's parliament.

If you want the direct answer to whether or not the UK is at war with Russia, that's a no, Britain is not currently at war with Russia.

The concerns over this being a possibility stem from Russian escalation, the various threats they've made against the UK and what Putin might do to countries that keep supporting Ukraine.

Donald Tusk of Poland has warned Russia could 'accidentally' launch drone strikes on a NATO country in the coming months (ROLAND SCHLAGER / APA / AFP via Getty Images)

The UK is supplying weapons, drones and aid to Ukraine, which does not make it part of the war Russia started with their invasion of the Eastern European country.

What Putin claimed would be a three-day 'special military operation' has turned into a war that has lasted several years, with Russia taking some territory in Ukraine but advancing at a slow pace and suffering significant losses.

In that time Russia has carried out a number of 'grey zone' attacks, acts of propaganda, disinformation, sabotage and assassination on another country's soil which are meant to damage and destabilise another country without officially declaring war on them.

Russia has used nerve agents in an attempt to assassinate people on British soil in the past, and various more recent attacks have been blamed on them.

But Britain is not officially at war with Russia, it's just supplying weapons to the country Russia is trying to invade while the Russians attempt to carry out acts of sabotage in the UK, so things are hardly friendly.

Britain is not at war with Russia, but as a NATO member if the Russians attack an ally they could be called in (Stefan Rousseau - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

NATO membership and Article 5

If a war were to start it is likely that it would be because of the UK's membership of NATO and Article 5, which allows a member state that is attacked to call all other countries in the alliance for help.

Article 5 states simply that an attack on one NATO member is an attack on all, the only previous time it has been invoked was after 9/11 when it was used on behalf of the US.

Russia has been carrying out attacks all over Europe, with Germany blaming Russia for a botched bombing attempt on Leipzig/Halle airport, a Russian ship fired flares at a Danish military helicopter and a NATO fighter jet shot down a Russian drone armed with explosives which had entered Lithuania's airspace.

Per the Wall Street Journal, US intelligence has warned that Russia is planning a 'limited assault' against a NATO country in the coming years which could range from cyberattacks to a land invasion in order to test whether the alliance will hold.

Putin has refused to rule out strikes against NATO targets.

The number of Russian attacks on NATO has increased recently, with Germany blaming them for a botched drone attack on an airport (NEWS5 / AFP via Getty Images))

The event that could bring Britain to war

If Russia attacks a NATO country, and there are plenty of them which border Russia since they don't want to become isolated and invaded by Putin's regime, then that country could invoke Article 5 which would oblige Britain to help it.

At present there hasn't been any declaration of war and Article 5 hasn't been triggered, and even if it did happen that doesn't guarantee conscription is on the cards.

Even if war isn't coming it's prudent to prepare for it, just in case.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the warnings from Poland about a possible Russian attack to test the NATO response were 'sound and well-documented', as he announced 'the Russian hybrid threat against Europeans and France has intensified'.

Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten said Europe will 'need to take that warning very seriously', while Finnish President Alexander Stubb said it was 'worth mentally preparing for something to happen in case Russia tried something.

Tusk had said warnings about a hybrid attack from Russia against a NATO country had become more specific in recent months.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed Europe would be in for a 'very short' war if the conflict was to escalate.