A terrifying new simulation has shown the catastrophic consequences of a potential Russian nuclear strike on the UK.
Leaked reports recently indicated that Russia had marked out 32 potential targets across Europe for a nuclear attack.
With three key locations being in northern Britain: Cumbria, Hull, and Rosyth, the revelation has added fresh urgency to the UK’s strategic defence planning.
A simulation, shared by Visualiser 3D on YouTube, imagines a nightmare scenario in which Russia launches a nuclear assault.
Watch the simulation below:It opens with ‘stage one,’ titled “initiation,” in which the Russian military fires “about five dozen tactical nuclear warheads” to obliterate the UK’s military capabilities.
Estimated to reach British soil in just 15 to 20 minutes, the attack would offer little to no warning. Within two hours, “about one million” people across the UK and Russia would be dead.
In “stage two,” the simulation shows Putin’s forces shifting focus to inflict maximum civilian casualties, targeting major population centres like London and critical industrial hubs. An estimated 50 million lives would be lost in this phase alone. The stated objective: to prevent any effective nuclear retaliation.
The final phase, “stage three,” envisions the aftermath, nuclear fallout. Visualized as a spreading green mist, radiation engulfs large swathes of land and sea, causing widespread “radiation sickness” and mass death among humans and animals while devastating the environment.
The video warns that such a conflict would destroy “two pillars on which the stability of prosperity was built,” plunging the world into chaos. “And it would cause mass starvation, crises, wars, and revolutions,” the simulation continues, with overall fatalities potentially reaching up to half a billion.
While there’s currently no concrete evidence of an imminent strike, British defence experts are not dismissing the risk.
Air Commodore Blythe Crawford, who recently retired as Commandant of the UK’s Air and Space Warfare Centre, revealed that after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the UK military ran its own simulation using a “synthetic environment," per The Sun.
"As you can imagine, it was not a pretty picture," he said. “It reinforced the fact that we really need to get after this.”
In light of growing threats, Britain is now taking unprecedented steps to bolster its nuclear deterrence. For the first time since the Cold War, the UK is considering arming jets with nuclear weapons.
As part of a major strategic defence review set to be unveiled this week, Defence Secretary John Healey and Admiral Sir Tony Radakin are in talks with US officials to acquire aircraft capable of deploying tactical nuclear gravity bombs, The Times reported.
These would complement the UK’s current sea-based deterrent, enabling launches from both air and sea.
American-built F-35A Lightning stealth jets, recently procured by Germany, are the likely candidates. They have a range of nearly 900 miles and can carry a B61 thermonuclear bomb.
“The world is definitely becoming more dangerous. Nuclear risks are rising,” Healey said. “For the first time since the Cold War, we face seriously increasing risks of state-on-state conflict.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has declared it’s time to “transform how we defend these islands," adding: “We will meet this moment head on - by mounting the kind of response not seen before in most of our lifetimes."
“We will restore Britain’s war-fighting readiness as the central purpose of our Armed Forces," he continued. "We are being directly threatened by states with advanced military forces...So we must be ready to fight and win. After all, the best way to prevent conflict is by preparing for it.”
As part of this new war-readiness strategy, the UK will invest over $2 billion (£1.5bn) into building six new munitions factories, creating or supporting nearly 2,000 jobs and shifting arms production to wartime levels.
The goal is to reach three percent of GDP in defence spending by 2034 and ensure the UK is never caught off guard.