Putin has chilling response when asked if Russia will strike UK

Vladimir Putin responded with a smirk when asked about attacking military facilities in the UK.

State propaganda channel RT asked the Russian leader if 'British military industrial facilities located on British territory [could] become military targets?'.

Replying with a smile, the 73-year-old said: "That's a secret, a military secret."

He added that 'British military facilities' inside Ukraine were 'absolutely' a Russian target.

"If there are, then absolutely, I can confirm once again: any military facilities in Ukraine are our legitimate target, British or otherwise," Putin said.

It comes after Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova warned last week that 'any British military installations and equipment in Ukraine and beyond its borders' could be attacked in retaliation for Ukrainian strikes on Russia using British weapons.

Putin was answering a series of questions during a nighttime press conference in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (Vyacheslav PROKOFYEV / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

The UK Prime Minister announced plans to share classified blueprints and technology to help Ukraine locally produce long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles in their fight against Putin's men.

Andy Burnham said last week that 'Russia should be in no doubt of our resolve' and that the UK 'will not back down until there is a just and lasting peace'.

The UK’s total military, humanitarian and economic support for Ukraine since the war began in 2022 now amounts to £9.3 billion, according to government figures.

Putin's last state visit was in 2012 for the Olympic Games (Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

Now, the European Union’s top diplomat has revealed plans to impose sanctions on more people over Russia’s war on Ukraine and has 'in the pipeline 1,600 listings for the military complex of Russia, and maybe there are more to be added'.

The comments come after the German government blamed Russia for the attempted attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport on 4 August using a drone laden with explosives and announced it would shut down a Russian consulate among other measures.

“It is clear that it has all the hallmarks of state sponsored terrorism. The question is: what do we do about this,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.

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

Putin said 'British military facilities' inside Ukraine were 'absolutely' a Russian target (Contributor/Getty Images)

A leaked map, 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