The map listed 23 UK locations tied to defence manufacturing and nuclear infrastructure
In February 2019, Russian state television aired a segment that stood out even by the country’s own standards of confrontational rhetoric. During a Sunday night broadcast of Vesti Nedeli, the flagship weekly news programme, viewers were shown a map of the United States marked with what the presenter described as potential targets in the event of a nuclear strike. The segment was presented by Dmitry Kiselyov, one of the Kremlin’s most prominent television figures and a central conduit for state messaging. As the map appeared on screen, Kiselyov named specific locations, including the Pentagon and Camp David, the US president’s retreat in Maryland. He said Russia’s developing Tsirkon hypersonic missile would be capable of hitting such targets in under five minutes if launched from submarines positioned near US waters.At the time, the broadcast drew international attention for its bluntness. Six years on, in late 2025, the segment has resurfaced again, now viewed through a different lens, after Russian-linked figures released a comparable list of alleged UK targets.
The 2019 broadcast: What was shown and said
The Vesti Nedeli segment aired on Sunday, 24 February 2019, and was reported the following day by Reuters. Kiselyov described the locations highlighted on the map as US “presidential or military command centres”. In addition to the Pentagon and Camp David, he named Fort Ritchie in Maryland, a military training facility that closed in 1998, McClellan Air Force Base in California, shut down in 2001, and Jim Creek, a naval communications station in Washington state. The inclusion of decommissioned sites was noted by analysts at the time, though Kiselyov did not address that point directly on air. Instead, the focus of the segment was speed and reach. Hypersonic weapons, defined as travelling at more than five times the speed of sound, were presented as a technological shift that would compress decision-making timelines to minutes. “For now, we’re not threatening anyone,” Kiselyov told viewers. “But if such a deployment takes place, our response will be instant.” The broadcast followed remarks made days earlier by President Vladimir Putin, who said Russia was prepared for a “Cuban missile-style” crisis if the United States sought one. His comments came amid the collapse of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, a Cold War–era agreement that had limited the deployment of certain classes of nuclear missiles, something Moscow denies. Putin warned that if the US deployed intermediate-range missiles in Europe, Russia would respond by placing hypersonic nuclear weapons on submarines close to American shores. Washington rejected the claim, stating it had no immediate plans to deploy such missiles and dismissing Putin’s warning as propaganda. When asked about Kiselyov’s report, the Kremlin said it did not interfere with the editorial policy of state television.
Why the map Is circulating again in 2025
The 2019 footage has resurfaced in autumn 2025, after Russian figures began publicly circulating maps and lists of alleged UK targets. The immediate trigger was a Telegram post by Dmitry Rogozin, a former deputy prime minister, former head of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, and now a senator linked to Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia. Rogozin published a map identifying 23 locations across the UK, described as defence industry sites, nuclear infrastructure, and military-linked facilities. Russian media outlets began referencing the post from 1 October 2025 onwards.The timing followed a series of statements by British figures, including former UK defence secretary Ben Wallace, who said Ukraine should be helped to acquire long-range capabilities to make Crimea “uninhabitable,” remarks that, according to Mirror UK, Rogozin explicitly cited as the context for publishing his map. “What a sober minister has in mind, a former one has on his tongue,” Rogozin wrote on Telegram. “It is useful to read this for those of us who still consider peace with imperialist aggressors possible.” He added a warning to Russian oligarchs: “Do not send your children to study in England. It is deadly dangerous.” As attention turned to the UK map, commentators and tabloid outlets began drawing parallels with the earlier US broadcast.
Rogozin’s UK target map and named locations
Rogozin framed the map as a response to statements from British political figures, writing that it was useful for understanding what he described as the West’s “true intentions.” The locations highlighted were not arbitrary. They correspond closely to sites listed in the UK government’s policy paper ‘Defence Industrial Strategy 2025: Making Defence an Engine for Growth,’ which outlines key defence manufacturing hubs, nuclear infrastructure and military-industrial facilities across the country , a point noted by The Mirror in its coverage of the map’s resurfacing. The map named 23 locations, each associated with defence production, military logistics, or strategic industry:
Image: topwar.ru
- Glasgow — BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, Thales
- Belfast — Harland & Wolff, Spirit AeroSystems, Thales
- Fivemiletown — Cooneen Defence
- Barrow-in-Furness — BAE Systems
- Bolton — MBDA
- Telford — RBSL
- Aberporth — QinetiQ, Tekever
- Merthyr Tydfil — General Dynamics
- Glascoed — BAE Systems
- Bristol — Airbus, BAE Systems, GKN Aerospace, Leonardo, MBDA, QinetiQ, Rolls-Royce
- HMNB Devonport — Babcock
- Yeovil — Leonardo
- Aldermaston — Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE)
- London — Helsing, Palantir
- Stevenage — Airbus, MBDA
- Ampthill — Lockheed Martin
- Derby — Rolls-Royce
- Sheffield — Sheffield Forgemasters
- Warton — BAE Systems
- Samlesbury — BAE Systems
- Newton Aycliffe — Octric Semiconductors
- Tyne & Wear — BAE Systems, Leonardo
- Edinburgh — Leonardo
Rogozin’s remarks followed a series of aggressive statements on Russian state television. Prominent presenter Vladimir Solovyov singled out former UK defence secretary Ben Wallace, criticising him personally and referencing Russia’s Poseidon underwater nuclear drone, a strategic system designed to deliver nuclear warheads via autonomous submarine vehicles, in what was widely interpreted as a pointed warning directed at Britain. UK defence officials have not publicly responded to the map or Rogozin’s claims. Analysts note that the episode reflects a broader and consistent pattern in Russian messaging: the public naming of specific infrastructure sites, combined with references to advanced strategic weapons, during periods of heightened tension with NATO.
NATO, the UK, and the broader picture
The renewed attention on Russian state television threats comes amid fresh warnings from NATO’s leadership about the security environment in Europe. This week, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said he wanted to be “crystal clear about the threat” facing the alliance.“We are Russia’s next target, and we are already in harm’s way,” Rutte said. “I fear that too many [NATO members] are quietly complacent. Too many don’t feel the urgency. And too many believe that time is on our side. It is not. The time for action is now. Allied defence spending and production must rise rapidly. Our armed forces must have what they need to keep us safe.”Those remarks followed separate warnings from Minister Al Carns, who said that the “shadow of war is knocking on Europe’s door,” language that echoed growing concern across European capitals about escalation risks. Rutte has also warned that “Russia has brought war back to Europe, and we must be prepared for the scale of war our grandparents and great grandparents endured.”Against that backdrop, the resurfacing of past Russian state television broadcasts, including the 2019 map of alleged US targets and more recent lists and maps referencing the UK, has been viewed through the lens of a wider deterioration in relations between Russia and NATO. The UK’s status as a NATO member means any direct attack would engage Article 5, the alliance’s collective defence clause, a fact that continues to frame how such broadcasts are received beyond their immediate audiences.
The role of state television and signalling
Russian state television has long occupied a dual role: part domestic messaging, part strategic signalling. Kiselyov himself has previously claimed Russia could reduce the United States to “radioactive ash”, a phrase that became emblematic of the channel’s tone. In 2019, the Vesti Nedeli map was notable not because nuclear planning was new, but because it was visualised so directly for a mass audience. Analysts at the time viewed the segment less as a literal strike plan and more as a form of political communication, intended to underscore technological capability and deterrence. The resurfacing of the footage in 2025 does not indicate any new official targeting posture. There has been no updated US strike map broadcast on Russian state television, nor any formal statement revisiting the 2019 segment. What has changed is the context: heightened rhetoric, renewed focus on NATO, and the appearance of similarly styled material aimed at the UK. Go to Source
