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Shots Fired at Man Attempting to Force his Way into British Base

British police stand guard at the entrance to the US Air Force base at RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk, Britain December 18, 2017. (Reuters)
British police stand guard at the entrance to the US Air Force base at RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk, Britain December 18, 2017. (Reuters)
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Shots Fired at Man Attempting to Force his Way into British Base

British police stand guard at the entrance to the US Air Force base at RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk, Britain December 18, 2017. (Reuters)
British police stand guard at the entrance to the US Air Force base at RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk, Britain December 18, 2017. (Reuters)

A Briton attempted to force his way on Monday into a British military base used by the US Air Force, prompting US military personnel to open fire.

The Mildenhall Royal Air Force base said security staff locked down the base, used by the United States military to refuel US and NATO aircraft in Europe, at about 1300 GMT following reports of a disturbance.

“Shots were fired by American service personnel and a man has been detained with cuts and bruises and taken into custody,” Suffolk police said. “No other people have been injured as a result of the incident.”

Police said they were not looking for anyone else on the site after the man, a 44 year-old Briton, was arrested on suspicion of criminal trespass.

The case is not being treated as terrorism, said police.

A Western security source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that Suffolk police were taking the lead on the incident and that specialist anti-terrorism officers were not immediately involved.

Suffolk Police confirmed in a statement they were not treating the incident as terrorism and were receiving support from other law enforcement agencies while their investigation continued.

The US Air Force said the incident at the base, which is about 77 miles (125 km) northeast of London, had been contained and the suspect had been apprehended.

Police said they remained on the base but there was no threat to the base or local community.

Mildenhall houses the 100th Air Refueling Wing and some special operations squadrons.

The 1,162-acre base, which is home to about 3,100 US military and an additional 3,000 family members, is earmarked for closure after the United States said it was going to move its operations from the base to Germany.

The base said in a statement staff had been released from the lockdown about an hour-and-a-half after the incident.

“Individuals in the area surrounding the installation are asked to avoid the base at this time,” it said.

In 2016, a delivery driver was convicted of plotting to kill US troops based in England by staging road accidents with soldiers’ cars and then attacking them with knives and possibly a home-made bomb.

Prosecutors said Junead Khan had used his job to scout RAF Mildenhall and two other US bases while on carrying out deliveries.

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Trump Sets New Deadline of 10 or 12 Days for Russia to Act on Ukraine

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out the fire in a fire department school following a Russian air attack in Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine, Monday, July 28, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out the fire in a fire department school following a Russian air attack in Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine, Monday, July 28, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
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Trump Sets New Deadline of 10 or 12 Days for Russia to Act on Ukraine

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out the fire in a fire department school following a Russian air attack in Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine, Monday, July 28, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out the fire in a fire department school following a Russian air attack in Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine, Monday, July 28, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

US President Donald Trump set a new deadline on Monday of 10 or 12 days for Russia to make progress toward ending the war in Ukraine or face consequences, underscoring frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the 3-1/2-year-old conflict.

Trump has threatened both sanctions on Russia and buyers of its exports unless progress is made. The fresh deadline suggests the US president is prepared to move forward on those threats after previous hesitation to do so.

Speaking in Scotland, where he is holding meetings with European leaders and playing golf, Trump said he was disappointed in Putin and shortening a 50-day deadline he had set on the issue earlier this month.

"I'm going to make a new deadline of about ... 10 or 12 days from today," Trump told reporters during a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. "There's no reason in waiting... We just don't see any progress being made."

There was no immediate comment from the Kremlin.

Ukraine welcomed the statement. Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff, thanked Trump in a social media post for "standing firm and delivering a clear message of peace through strength."

Trump, who has expressed annoyance also with Zelenskiy, has not always followed tough talk about Putin with action, citing what he deems a good relationship that the two men have had previously.

On Monday, Trump indicated he was not interested in more talks with Putin. He said sanctions and tariffs would be used as penalties for Moscow if it did not meet Trump's demands.

"There's no reason to wait. If you know what the answer is going to be, why wait? And it would be sanctions and maybe tariffs, secondary tariffs," Trump said. "I don't want to do that to Russia. I love the Russian people."

Ukraine had proposed a summit between Putin and Zelenskiy before the end of August, but the Kremlin has said that timeline was unlikely and that a meeting could only happen as a final step to clinch peace.

Russia's foreign ministry said on Saturday that if the West wanted real peace with Ukraine, it would stop supplying Kyiv with weapons.

Trump has repeatedly voiced exasperation with Putin for pursuing attacks on Ukraine despite US efforts to end the war. Trump has played up successes in other parts of the world where the United States has helped to broker peace agreements and has been flattered by some leaders who suggest he should be given the Nobel Peace Prize.

"I'm disappointed in President Putin," Trump said on Monday. "I'm going to reduce that 50 days that I gave him to a lesser number because I think I already know the answer what's going to happen."

Trump, who is also struggling to achieve a peace deal in Gaza, has touted his role in ending conflicts between India and Pakistan as well as Rwanda and Congo. Before returning to the White House in January, Trump campaigned on a promise to end Russia's conflict with Ukraine in a day.

"We thought we had that settled numerous times, and then President Putin goes out and starts launching rockets into some city like Kyiv and kills a lot of people in a nursing home or whatever," Trump said. "And I say that's not the way to do it."