A controversial US spy base nestled away in the British countryside will be working to disrupt Vladimir Putin 's illegal war in Ukraine.
World leaders have been united in their condemnation of Russia after Moscow ordered all out war against its neighbour on Thursday.
In response, sanctions have been imposed on key Kremlin figures in the hopes of restraining Putin financially and speeding up the depletion of his war chest.
Further support has been delivered in the form of sophisticated, modern weaponry - with the European Union announcing today it would follow US and UK examples and purchase arms for the under-siege nation, Yorkshire Live reports.
But while this support is well publicised, western spies will also be covertly gathering intelligence from secret facilities across the globe in the hopes of disrupting Putin's efforts.
One such location is RAF Menwith Hill, which is situated on 650-acres of North Yorkshire countryside.
The site lies between Harrogate and Skipton near a stretch of the A59.
The most striking feature of the base is its gigantic radar domes - which look like enormous golf balls.
While the site may be nestled among the beautiful Yorkshire countryside, it is one of the region's most controversial locations.
This RAF station is, according to American investigative news website The Intercept, the US National Security Agency's (NSA) largest overseas spying base.
The base was established in the 1950s to intercept communications meant for the Soviet Union and communist Eastern European countries.
Today it forms part of the NSA's global surveillance network intercepting phone calls, emails and other electronic communications around the world.
The nature and extent of how it has used this information has made it a site of great controversy.
Menwith Hill has been used to aid US and UK military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq together with drone strikes and covert missions by special forces in the Middle East and North Africa, The Intercept says.
The base also had, until 2015, an elementary school (US equivalent of primary school) and a high school for the children of workers.
But there are also leisure facilities for the hundreds of Brits and Americans that live and work at Menwith Hill.
The base is protected under SOCAP which makes trespass a criminal offence punishable by a fine of up to £5,000 and up to 51 weeks in prison.
Despite demolition work taking place at the site in 2019, it was reported that RAF Menwith Hill would "remain an integral part of joint UK and US security" and "has an assured future".
The continued use of the site is also backed up by recent reports that the US plans on investing $40m on expanding the spying and surveillance capabilities at Menwith Hill.
