UK nationwide alert issued after Russia show chilling strike map with 'sooner or later' warning

UK Chancellor John Healey has announced new measures to prevent Vladimir Putin from evading economic sanctions.

Russia has been under heavy international sanctions since its invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in February 2022. This includes asset freezes, exclusion from the SWIFT banking system and a blanket ban on Russian aircraft from entering airspace above European Union and NATO countries.

In a new move against the Kremlin, Healey revealed that new measures would be taken to prevent Russia from evading sanctions through covert measures during a G20 summit in North Carolina. This includes a nationwide alert issued by the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Labour government against a network known as A7.

Backed by the Kremlin, the A7 Network utilises third-country financial institutions and illicit use of the international financial system to bypass sanctions.

It is also linked to the Iranian state.

Aftermath of a recent Russian drone attack in Kyiv (Kyrylo Chubotin/Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

"Our commitment to stand with the Ukrainian people is unshakeable," Healey said of the move.

"We will bear down on those propping up Putin’s war as we push to secure a just and lasting peace."

Russia warns of retaliation against the UK 'sooner or later'

Healey's move comes amid recent threats made on Russian state TV, with military expert and former Colonel Mikhail Khodaryonok making threats about 'hypothetical strikes' against the UK's 'military-industrial complex'.

“Britain’s leadership has to realise that sooner or later, they will have to answer for their actions. If not today, then tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow…but certainly in the historically observable future," Khodaryonok said.

“We have all the technical means for a strike… we need to think about what might happen after the first strikes, in the second and third stages for example.”

The show's host then asked about hypothetical targets for such strikes, suggesting locations such as Edinburgh, Suffolk and Wiltshire.

A strike map recently shown by Khodaryonok (YouTube)

“We cannot rule out anything,” replied Khodaryonok. “If I was in charge, I’d certainly carry out this strike.”

23 UK towns and cities on Russia’s ‘strike list’

Meanwhile, a leaked map, previously shared by former Russian deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin, highlights 23 potential targets in the UK, including military and industrial hubs.

• Glasgow – BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, Thales
• Belfast – Harland & Wolff, Spirit Aerosystems, Thales
• Fivemiletown – Cooneen Defence
• Barrow-in-Furness – BAE Systems
• Bolton – MBDA
• Telford – RBSL
• Aberporth – QinetiQ, Tekever
• Merthyr Tydfil – General Dynamics
• Glascoed – BAE Systems
• Bristol – Airbus, BAE Systems, GKN Aerospace, Leonardo, MBDA, QinetiQ, Rolls-Royce
• HMNB Devonport – Babcock
• Yeovil – Leonardo
• Aldermaston – AWE
• London – Helsing, Palantir
• Stevenage – Airbus, MBDA
• Ampthill – Lockheed Martin
• Derby – Rolls-Royce
• Sheffield – Sheffield Forgemasters
• Warton & Samlesbury – BAE Systems
• Newton Aycliffe – Octric Semiconductors
• Tyne & Wear – BAE Systems, Leonardo
• Edinburgh – Leonardo
• Rosyth – Babcock, QinetiQ