The Putin propaganda machine has threatened that the admission of the British armed forces being present in Ukraine amounts to a “casus belli” for a nuclear strike on the UK. Kremlin-funded state TV seized on the death of UK paratrooper George Hooley, 28, in an explosion behind friendly lines while observing Ukrainian forces testing a defensive capability.

Leading Kremlin propagandist hawk, Vladimir Solovyov, told viewers on his nightly show: “Now a nuclear strike on Britain is inevitable….” Historian Andrey Sidorov, another Putin cheerleader, said: “This incident should be considered a casus belli, when the British Ministry of Defence officially acknowledged the death of its military personnel on active duty on Ukrainian territory.” He demanded the Russian foreign ministry summon British ambassador Nigel Casey or a chargé d’affaires “to explain what an active-duty military officer was doing there”.

Lance Corporal George Hooley with his dog Mabel (Image: -)

Sidorov told Solovyov: “Well, we might as well launch a nuclear strike on the UK…

“This can really be considered a casus belli, just like the plundering of our sovereign assets…

“This is official, he is a member of the British armed forces who died on the territory of Ukraine, which is in conflict with us.

“So we can assume that there is a British military contingent there, which is fighting against the Russian army.”

Solovyov demanded: “So what’s stopping you from [striking now] with nuclear weapons? Consider it a casus belli and destroy them.”

Sidorov told him: “At the moment, we are waiting.”

But war fanatic Solovyov said a nuclear strike should have come three years ago: “We would have won already,” he said.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday (December 11): “They’re fantasising about sending their troops to Ukraine as peacekeepers.

“For us, these so-called peacekeepers will immediately become legitimate targets. We must understand this.

“We’ve already been forced to acknowledge the direct participation of British troops and special forces in the war against Russia.

“After one of them died, and the British government could no longer conceal these circumstances, it was announced that no less than 100 British citizens are among those fighting against the Russian Federation.

“Of course, we will draw all the necessary conclusions from this latest manifestation of the true nature of the British regime.”

Lance Corporal George Hooley of the Parachute Regiment died in Ukraine in what the MoD said was a “tragic accident” while observing Ukrainian forces test “a new defensive capability, away from the front lines” on Tuesday (December 9). Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer paid tribute to the 28-year-old paratrooper, saying he had lived a life “full of courage and determination”.