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UK war-games cyber attack on Moscow

Troops train for clashes against the Russians

Defence chiefs have war-gamed a massive cyber-strike to black out Moscow if Vladimir Putin launches a military attack on the West, after concluding that the only other way of hitting back would be to use nuclear weapons.

Senior security sources have told The Sunday Times they are concerned that Britain has a capability gap that has left commanders with too few weapons to meet Kremlin aggression short of firing a Trident nuclear missile.

Planning exercises on the threat posed by Russia have left officials “ashen-faced” at the speed with which confrontation with Moscow could escalate.

Whitehall officials have vowed to step up offensive cyber-capability, including the ability to “turn out the lights” in the Kremlin. That would give Britain more options if Putin ordered Russian