London/Moscow: British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace reminded that Russia had launched a chemical attack two years ago with a warning that it could strike again potentially killing thousands. He said in the past few months, the Russian behaviour is not within the norms that it used to be. Only a few days ago, Russian warships and submarines showed an increased presence near UK waters.   

In the past few years, relations between the UK and Russia have become increasingly strained. In 2014, Russia invaded Ukraine and took control of Crimea, after which the UK adopted an aggressive stance against it. The UK government had ceased military cooperation with Russia and announced sanctions against it. Also, Russia had allegedly attempted to interfere in the Scottish and Brexit referendums. After that, in 2018, an attempt was made to murder former Russian intelligence agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, who are living in the UK.  

The chemical – Novichok was used to make the murder attempt on both of them. Even though both survived the ordeal, a British woman lost her life in the attack. Ever since the incident, UK-Russia ties have drastically deteriorated with the UK expelling 23 Russian diplomats. Before that, in 2006, Russia had tried to assassinate former spy Alexander Litvinenko with a chemical agent. A few months ago, a Russian political leader Alexei Navalny was also revealed to have been subjected to an attack with a chemical agent.  

As he drew attention to the Skripal case, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace warned that Russia might carry out a Salisbury-style attack in Britain. Russia may execute an attack with second chemical agent killing thousands on the streets of Britain, Wallace said. At the time, he also brought to attention Russia’s changed behaviour. The Defence Secretary stated that ‘The UK is consistently urging Russia for improving its relationships as even for complying with the international rule of law. If it heeds our call, the UK and Russia could go back to a good relationship.’  

Cases of coronavirus were observed to have been steadily rising in the UK for the past few days. Simultaneously, the process of Brexit has entered its final stages as uncertainties associated with it also grow. Moreover, UK think tanks and analysts are repeatedly warning that China and Russia may try to exploit the situation. The UK intelligence chief had only recently said China posed the most significant security risk to the UK. Therefore, the defence secretary underscoring the threat of an attack from Russia right after that is considered crucial. 

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