An expert has warned that the United Kingdom is already in conflict with Russia – and has been ‘for years’.
It comes as a government minister is set to alert Nato on a ‘wave of cyber attacks’ Russia could unleash on Britain, potentially shutting off power for millions.
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Pat McFadden, is expected to warn the conference in London next week that Vladimir Putin’s threats should ‘not be underestimated’ in the Kremlin’s ‘hidden war’.
It is reported that he will tell delegates: ‘Military hard-power is one thing. But cyber war can be destabilising and debilitating. With a cyber attack, Russia can turn the lights off for millions of people. It can shut down the power grids. This is the hidden war Russia is waging with Ukraine.’
Echoing his comments, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said today that Nato was in a ‘hidden cyber war’ with Russia, as well as Ukraine’s open conflict.
However, Keir Giles, a Russia expert at international affairs thinktank, Chatham House, told Metro: ‘There’s a growing realisation that all of these adjectives applied to war, whether it’s ‘hybrid’ or ‘subthreshold’ war, or even ‘hidden war’ are convenient – because they allow government authorities to maintain the fictional idea that Russia is not waging war on us.
”Because if you simply call it war, that means you have to do something about it.’
Cyber threats from foreign actors are not new. Days ago, it was reported that a ‘record number of incidents’ impacted the UK’s ‘critical’ drinking water supplies in 2024 – without being officially disclosed, according to Recorded Future News.
Giles stressed recent events point to a ‘subsurface conflict’ which has been going on for more than a decade, which most UK citizens aren’t aware of.
Between August 2023 and March 2024 alone, 46,000 flights in areas such as the Baltic, Black Sea and eastern Mediterranean logged interference issues – believed to be due to Russian interference.
In early 2023, MP Oliver Dowden revealed the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) issued an ‘official threat notice’ to those who operate critical national infrastructure, citing an ’emerging risk posed by state-aligned adversaries’ as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Mr Dowden warned the Russian-aligned groups have a motive to ‘disrupt or destroy’ UK infrastructure.
Each proves McFadden’s speech could have been written years ago, Giles said. His upcoming remarks to Nato will describe a situation which is ‘not new’.
‘It is important to remember that we are under constant online threat at the same time as President Putin is promising to unleash missiles against our military facilities,’ he added.
Just days ago, a fleet of unidentified drones flew over three airbases in the UK, including one due to store nuclear warheads.
It is not clear whether the unmanned drones over RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall, in Suffolk, and RAF Feltwell, in Norfolk, were operated by a hostile actor.
Further threats to ‘turn off the power’ in the UK, which McFadden will touch on in his remarks, is also not something new, Giles said.
‘The focus of his speech is on the power grid, but that is not the only element of critical national infrastructure which appears to be under threat,’ Giles explained.
Work and Pensions Secretary Kendall echoed McFadden’s ‘hidden war’ comments in relation to the national grid on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips.
She said: ‘Pat McFadden is right to say that there is not only the open military war with Russia as the aggressor, but there is also a hidden cyber war and that Russia will do everything in its power to destabilise not only within Ukraine but amongst the Nato allies.’
McFadden’s upcoming speech comes after weeks of tensions following the US allowing Ukraine to use long-range missiles to strike within Russian territory – prompting fears of a larger conflict.
Ukraine’s ex-military commander-in-chief claimed World War III ‘already started’ in a sobering warning.
Valery Zaluzhny said that the direct involvement of Russia’s allies – North Korea, Iran and China – means that the conflict is now on a global scale.
‘I believe that in 2024 we can absolutely believe that the Third World War has begun,’ said Zaluzhny, who is now Ukraine’s envoy to Britain.
‘Because in 2024, Ukraine is no longer facing Russia. Soldiers from North Korea are standing in front of Ukraine. Let’s be honest.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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