Russia issues bomb threat to four UK locations - then taunts Britons: 'Sleep well!'

Russia issues bomb threat to four UK locations - then taunts Britons: 'Sleep well!'

WATCH: Iran war a ‘distraction’ from Britain’s ‘critical vulnerabilities’ threatened by Russia, former defence chief warns

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GB NEWS

Dan McDonald

By Dan McDonald


Published: 17/04/2026

- 04:46

Updated: 17/04/2026

- 04:46

'When strikes become a reality depends on what comes next,' Moscow warned

Russia has issued a bomb threat to four locations in the UK - before issuing a chilling taunt to Britons.

Moscow has listed "potential target" areas which it claims have been involved in manufacturing drones for the Ukrainian war effort.


The Kremlin has listed sites in London, Leicester, Reading and Mildenhall in Suffolk as areas Vladimir Putin's forces could strike in a conflict.

The warning was accompanied by a taunt from Russia's former President Dmitry Medvedev, who told Europeans to “sleep well”.

Writing on social media, he said: “The list of European facilities which make drones & other equipment is a list of potential targets for the Russian armed forces.

“When strikes become a reality depends on what comes next.”

The British locations form part of a wider list spanning Europe, with sites in Germany, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland and the Czech Republic also named.

Other facilities in Spain, Italy, Israel and Turkey were also identified as allegedly producing drone components for Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin

London, Leicester, Reading and Mildenhall in Suffolk as 'potential targets' for Vladimir Putin's forces

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GETTY

Russia’s Defence Ministry accused European countries of escalating the war by ramping up drone production, warning it could lead to “unpredictable consequences”.

The threat comes after Russia launched one of its largest aerial assaults on Ukraine in recent weeks.

Moscow fired 324 drones and three ballistic missiles overnight, Ukrainian officials said, with air defences intercepting most of them.

At least 15 people were killed and around 90 injured, including a 12-year-old boy in Kyiv.

Dmitry Medvedev

Dmitry Medvedev told Europeans to 'sleep well' in a chilling warning

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GETTY

Further fatalities were reported in the southeastern city of Dnipro.

Russian forces also dropped a 1.5-tonne glide bomb on Sloviansk, destroying a children’s sports facility.

Two universities in Dnipro were damaged in the strikes, with student accommodation and nearby homes also hit.

More than 1,000 windows were blown out, despite no military targets being located nearby.

Russian strikes in Dnipro

Two universities in Dnipro were damaged in the strikes

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REUTERS

Meanwhile, Ukraine continued its own long-range drone campaign inside Russia.

Russian authorities said 85 Ukrainian drones were intercepted overnight, while one strike hit an industrial site in Sterlitamak, around 1,300km from the border.

One person was killed in that attack, according to regional officials.

Separately, two children aged five and 14 were killed in a Ukrainian drone strike in Russia’s Krasnodar region.