Kremlin-backed state TV has issued nuclear threats to the UK following news that a British paratrooper died in Ukraine.

The Putin propaganda machine said the presence of British armed forces in Ukraine amounts to a “casus belli” for a nuclear strike on the UK.

Leading Kremlin propagandist hawk Vladimir Solovyov told viewers on his nightly show: “Now a nuclear strike on Britain is inevitable….”

The UK Ministry of Defence stated on Tuesday that paratrooper George Hooley, 28, had been killed in Ukraine away from front lines while observing Ukrainian forces testing a defensive capability.

Historian Andrey Sidorov, another Putin cheerleader, said: “This incident should be considered a casus belli, when the British Ministry of Defence officially acknowledged the death of its military personnel on active duty on Ukrainian territory.”

He demanded the Russian foreign ministry summoned British ambassador Nigel Casey or a chargé d'affaires “to explain what an active-duty military officer was doing there.”

Sidorov told Solovyov: “Well, we might as well launch a nuclear strike on the UK…..

“This can really be considered a casus belli, just like the plundering of our sovereign assets….

“This is official, he is a member of the British armed forces who died on the territory of Ukraine, which is in conflict with us.

“So we can assume that there is a British military contingent there, which is fighting against the Russian army.”

Solovyov demanded: “So what's stopping you from [striking now] with nuclear weapons? Consider it a casus belli and destroy them.”

Sidorov told him: “At the moment, we are waiting.”

Lance Corporal Hooley, 28, was killed in a “tragic accident”, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said yesterday, while observing the testing of a new defensive capability.

In a statement on X (formerly Twitter ) the Ministry of Defence said: "It is with sadness that we can confirm that the member of the UK Armed Forces who died in Ukraine yesterday is Lance Corporal George Hooley of the Parachute Regiment."

Bloodthirsty Solovyov said a nuclear strike should have come three years ago. “We would have won already,” he said.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said today: “They're fantasising about sending their troops to Ukraine as peacekeepers.

“For us, these so-called peacekeepers will immediately become legitimate targets.

“We must understand this.

“We've already been forced to acknowledge the direct participation of British troops and special forces in the war against Russia .

“After one of them died, and the British government could no longer conceal these circumstances, it was announced that no less than 100 British citizens are among those fighting against the Russian Federation.

“Of course, we will draw all the necessary conclusions from this latest manifestation of the true nature of the British regime.”