Portsmouth named on hit list of Russia's potential nuclear targets in the UK in World War 3

Explosions have been reported across the country through the night.

It comes days after Russia recognised two separatist regions in the east of Ukraine.

The invasion of the country by Russia could flare tensions between the nation and the west.

However of course despite this the chances of WW3 remain extremely slim – although the Doomsday Clock, which tracks the possibility of the end of the World, is at two minutes to midnight, the closest approach to midnight, matching that of 1953.

The News previously revealed a hit list of Russian targets in the UK in the event of a nuclear attack from the Soviet Union during Cold War.

Cold War predictions drawn up in secret by the British government reveal the extent of a Russian nuclear strike on the UK.

Portsmouth's Naval Base was on the list of target.

At the height of nuclear tensions in the 1970s and 80s, at least 38 towns and cities were feared to be at risk from a strike from the Soviet Union – and Portsmouth was one of the key targets.

Dozens of army, navy and air force bases were also earmarked for destruction, with Portsmouth Naval Base topping the list of strategic targets.

The city is home to a majority of the Royal Navy’s fleet, as well as the Senior Service’s HQ where much of its top brass are located.

SEE ALSO: WW3: Will ‘new arms race’ between US and Russia spark new Cold War and World War Three?

Bases in nearby Gosport and Fareham also house thousands sailors.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously made no secret of the fact he is willing to use nukes and relations between the UK and Russia have reached new lows over the poisoning of Sergei Skripal as fears of a new Cold War grow.

UK defence officials drew up a list of 106 locations they believed were a target for Russia – marking them as ‘probable nuclear targets.’

These targets included:

- Central London

- Cheltenham

- Edinburgh

- Nottingham

- Teesside

- Coventry

- Wolverhampton

- Leicester

- Stoke-on-Trent

- Belfast

- Huddersfield

- Sunderland

- Gillingham

- Rochester

- Chatham

- Maidstone

- Glasgow

- Birmingham

- Liverpool

- Cardiff

- Manchester

- Southampton

- Leeds

- Newcastle/Gateshead

- Bristol

- Sheffield

- Swansea

- Hull

- Catterick

- York

- Preston

- Cambridge

- Dover

- Reading

- Salcombe

- Brecon

- Kidderminster

- Armagh

Alongside these major population centres were 23 RAF bases, 14 USAF bases, 10 radar stations, eight military command centres, and 13 Royal Navy bases.

It is not known if the list of probable targets has changed since the Cold War.