Senior UK defense officials have previously held "emergency talks" with officials in Cyprus and Gibraltar about the Russian threat to British bases, the Daily Telegraph can reveal.
The talks came after Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russian forces could strike facilities in countries that supply Ukraine with long-range missiles for attacks on Russian territory, such as Britain's Storm Shadow missiles.
"There have been some fairly significant meetings to look at the level of threat to the dominant British bases in Cyprus and Gibraltar," a source with knowledge of the talks reportedly told the newspaper.
“Our British overseas interests are easier for someone to approach than the UK itself. Cyprus is much more vulnerable to an attack. Russia could arm Hezbollah or some other proxy organization to launch an attack through Iran. One of the things we are most worried about is whether the Houthis are equipped to carry out an attack and they are close to Cyprus," added the same source of the newspaper.
He also referred to recent drone attacks against American bases.
However, government sources stressed to the same newspaper that the meetings did take place, but they were a regular practice of reviewing security measures.
They added that there had been no change in the general security position, either in the United Kingdom or on the bases.
The current threat level for bases in Cyprus and Gibraltar remains "significant", meaning an attack is only "probable". This is the third of five levels of security alert level.
Source: KYPE
