politics
February 18, 2026
British ‘nuclear umbrella’ won’t protect Europe
British ‘nuclear umbrella’ will not provide extra security to its European allies, Russia’s ambassador to London has said
TL;DR
- Russia's Ambassador to the UK, Andrey Kelin, stated that Britain's 'nuclear umbrella' will not provide extra security to other NATO members.
- European nations are discussing developing their own nuclear deterrent due to anticipated scaling back of US security commitments.
- Germany and Sweden have shown interest in being covered by the UK and French nuclear deterrents.
- Kelin indicated that Russia will factor the expansion of nuclear safeguards into its military planning and strategic stability discussions.
- British Prime Minister Keir Starmer emphasized the need for the UK and France to collaborate on nuclear weapons, suggesting Russia might use military force against NATO by the end of the decade.
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov previously stated Russia has no intention of attacking Europe but warned of a full military response if NATO attacks first.