Putin Wanted Scottish Independence to ‘Dismantle’ Britain’s Nuclear Threat: ‘An Unholy Mess’ | United Kingdom | News UK News

The fighting reached the center of the port city of Mariupol yesterday morning, but Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanishyna insisted there would be no “laying down of arms”. The townspeople are desperately short of food, water and electricity and face relentless Russian attacks. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of war crimes after around 90% of buildings in Mariupolis were destroyed or damaged by shelling.

Yet townspeople reportedly refused Moscow’s offer to “safely pass” out of town after a 5 a.m. deadline was set.

Despite the relentless shelling of major Ukrainian cities since Russia launched its invasion last month, most Western leaders have opposed the imposition of a no-fly zone.

Experts have argued that this could drag the West into a direct war with Russia which, given Putin’s posture, could potentially go nuclear.

However, earlier this month Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was the first British leader to speak positively about the prospect of imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

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While Ms Sturgeon stressed that this could lead to a “direct military confrontation”, she argued that “the West must keep an open mind to all ways to help Ukraine”.

Meanwhile, the SNP leader has long campaigned for a second referendum on Scottish independence, which expert Mr Ibrahim said would bring Scotland closer to the Kremlin.

Putin had tried to antagonize and dismantle all things Western for years before his invasion of Ukraine, and Scottish independence was seen by one pundit as the “most immediate” way to do so in the UK.

Mr Ibrahim, a research professor at the US Army College, wrote in The Scotsman: “The UK is the historical ancestor of what we now call the Western world and remains a key pillar of the Western alliance.

“Dismantling it is a fever dream for Putin and the deluded vengeful nationalists surrounding him in the Kremlin.

“And the prospect of Scottish independence is the most immediate way in which that can happen.”

In particular, Mr Ibrahim argued that Scottish independence would undermine the UK’s nuclear threat.

Last month, Putin put the world on high alert after ordering Russian nuclear deterrents to stand on high alert.

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Mr Ibrahim said in the 2020 article: “Imagine the scene: the first consequence of a plebiscite in favor of independence will be an unholy mess on nuclear deterrence.

“The SNP has already made it clear that they want Trident to leave the Clyde as soon as possible, and the rest of the UK has no other location as strategic as the Clyde, and moving operations would take years. ‒ time during which nuclear deterrence would be semi-paralyzed.

Meanwhile, Scottish independence would also bring Scotland closer to “Russia’s sphere of influence” due to the “friendship” that had nurtured between the SNP and “Russian agents of influence”, said the expert.

Mr Ibrahim added: “A newly independent Scotland ruled by anyone other than the SNP would also find it difficult to resist Moscow if the latter continued to pressure the British Isles, in the way they recently tested our national airspace. and our territorial waters.

“Scotland would be far more vulnerable to Kremlin designs and would be at the forefront of Kremlin attention, as one of the best vectors to further undermine other parts of the Western alliance, particularly the rest of the UK.

“After independence, Scotland would also find itself in immediate financial difficulty: a problem Uncle Vlad would no doubt be keen to help.

“And in particular an SNP government would have aligned the ‘messaging’ (read the propaganda) must blame whatever went wrong in Scotland during the transition period and for some time afterwards on the dark maneuverings of Westminster.”

In the build-up to Scotland’s independence referendum in 2014, Putin was coy about whether he wanted Scotland to secede from the UK.

However, speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, Putin said everyone has “the right to self-determination”.

The Russian leader said: “It’s not a matter for Russia, it’s an internal matter for the UK.

“Every people has the right to self-determination and now in Europe the process of diluting sovereignty within the framework of a united Europe is more accepted.”

However, Putin added: “But I believe one should not forget that being part of a single strong state has certain advantages and should not be neglected.

“But it’s a choice for everyone [person] according to their own situation. »