Russia has sent a chilling World War 3 threat to the UK over the possibility of British troops being deployed to Ukraine, even warning that Moscow is willing to use nuclear weapons. Ally of Vladimir Putin, Sergei Shoigu, secretary of the powerful Russian security council and ex-defence minister, said Moscow rejected Western “peacekeepers” with boots on the ground in the war-torn country.

He also warned of Moscow’s readiness to both use nuclear weapons and restart atomic weapons’ tests in the Arctic for the first time since the Cold War, claiming Europe is secretly preparing for war against Russia by 2030.

"In November 2024, revisions were introduced to the Basic Principles of State Policy of the Russian Federation on Nuclear Deterrence, according to which Russia reserves the right to use nuclear arms in the event of aggression against it or the Republic of Belarus, including with the use of conventional weapons," he noted. According to Shoigu, 69, the Kremlin is "carefully monitoring Europe’s military preparations", he told state news agency TASS.

He also warned: “Sensible politicians in Europe understand that the implementation of such a scenario [putting Western troops on the ground in Ukraine] could lead to a direct clash between NATO and Russia and subsequently to World War Three.

"In accordance with Russia’s National Security Strategy, in the event of foreign countries carrying out hostile actions representing a threat to Russia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, our country considers it legitimate to take appropriate symmetric and asymmetric measures necessary to thwart such actions and prevent them from repeating.

The official, who along with Russian General Valery Gerasimov was one of two men named by former Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin prior to his attempted coup d'état in 2023, said nuclear deterrence "is being carried out with regard to countries and military coalitions that consider Russia a potential enemy and possess weapons of mass destruction or conventional armed forces with substantial military capabilities."

Referring to UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's "coalition of the willing", Shoigu said it was "more correct" to brand British and EU forces as "contingent interventionists or occupiers".

"Where will these ‘peacekeepers’ come from?", he asked rhetorically. "They will be units of the same NATO countries, against the presence of which Russia opposed even before the [war], which began largely because of this threat - the deployment of NATO military infrastructure in Ukraine - on our historical territory."

Directly turning his focus to the UK, he said "the same British even before the [war] began were very actively building their naval base in Ochakiv in the Mykolaiv region [of Ukraine], where they not only trained naval special forces of the Ukrainian Navy, but also conducted their operations against us.

"It turns out that they will be able to return there again, but already under the flag of peacekeeping forces?"

Shoigu, who was ousted as defence minister 11 months ago, warned: “This is exactly what French President Emmanuel Macron means when he says that Ukraine has the right to ask for the introduction of NATO contingents without consulting Russia.”

The Putin hardliner ranted: "What will these ‘peacekeepers’ protect in Ukraine? The Nazi regime, marches and torchlight processions with symbols of SS divisions? Support the persecution of Orthodox Christians? Depriving the Russian-speaking population of the right to speak their native language, to preserve their own culture and traditions?"

He went on: "This is not a peacekeeping mission. Apparently, also for these reasons, the states that make up the real world majority do not express any particular desire to participate in such ‘peacekeeping’ initiatives."

Shoigu, who is Russia’s longest serving senior politician, having been in office since 1991, before Putin’s emergence on the national scene, accused Europe of plotting to go to war with Russia in a matter of years.

He said: “An undisguised campaign is unfolding in Europe to prepare for a military conflict with the Russian Federation. Possible timeframes for such a clash are being announced at various levels - from three to five years. As early as 2030, European politicians and the military want to be ready to fight us.”

He also claimed Ukraine was on the point of economic collapse and that Europe, including Britain, could not afford to bail it out and provide military supplies.

Eerily borrowing a Nazi phrase, he said Russia's nuclear-capable “wonder weapon” Oreshnik had been deployed in Belarus.

With US envoy Steve Witkoff due to meet Putin in Moscow soon, Shoigu was nevertheless cautious in believing a new era of cordial Russia-US relations had begun.

Addressing the White House's efforts to terminate the conflict, Shoigu said: "We welcome such an approach and are ready for reciprocal steps. Time will show whether the Americans are ready to resolve the existing systemic problems which require resolution. This is a difficult and long process.

"The history of our relations with the United States shows that we can trust only concrete actions rather than verbal statements."

He also refused to rule out new Russian nuclear tests.

"Our position on this matter depends on the United States’ actions in this area,” he told TASS. Now, warranty periods for some types of their nuclear munitions are expiring and the development of new types of weapons is underway. This may push Washington toward resuming nuclear tests. In such an event, Russia may follow their lead as a response step."

The USSR conducted its last nuclear test on the Arctic archipelago Novaya Zemlya on October 24, 1990.

Following it, it unilaterally declared a moratorium on nuclear tests. Russia continues to observe it. In a period from 1949 to 1990, the Soviet Union conducted 715 nuclear tests.

Separately, Putin’s ex-premier Dmitry Medvedev - who was Russian president from 2008 to 2012 - made a nuclear threat against countries, including Britain, which adhere to the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant on war crimes charges against the Kremlin dictator.

He warned “what may follow the execution of an illegal ICC judgement against a head of state who is not a party to the statute of the court.

“The very enforcement of such a judgement may be seen as a casus belli against the countries involved in its adoption,” he said.

"It is worth mentioning the danger of such decisions with regard to the leadership of a nuclear power and a permanent member of the UN Security Council."

He warned that those who issued the warrant “can and should be prosecuted by the investigative and judicial authorities of the country whose leadership is being illegally prosecuted”.