Russia condemns UK plan to increase nuclear weapons as threat to ‘international stability’

Russia has condemned the decision by the UK government to boost its arsenal of nuclear weapons, saying the move would harm international stability.

The UK will increase the cap on its nuclear warhead stockpile by more than 40 per cent, prime minister Boris Johnson revealed as part of his foreign and defence policy review on Tuesday.

Moscow described the British plans – which ends decades of gradual disarmament since the fall of the Soviet Union – as a serious blow to arms control.

“We are very sorry that Britain has chosen the path of increasing the number of nuclear warheads,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. “This decision will harm international stability and strategic security.”