The US spy base in the Yorkshire countryside with a key role in Russian conflicts with the West

As international tensions have escalated greatly in recent days following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, countries have taken measures to try and stop Vladimir Putin in his tracks.

Sanctions have been imposed on the Russian president and the state and weapons have been provided to the Ukrainian people to help them defend their country.

Action is also being taken on home soil, which is where RAF Menwith Hill could come into the picture.

Although the clandestine nature of operations at the site are kept infamously quiet by its operators, the fact that the site was set up to acquire information on the Soviet Union during the Cold War and has been used in conflicts ever since gives a strong indication that it could be playing a part now.

The sprawling, 650-acre site, which features huge golf ball-like radar domes (or radomes), is situated in the North Yorkshire countryside on the A59 between Harrogate and Skipton.

But while the site may be situated among beautiful countryside, it has a reputation as one of the most controversial sites in Yorkshire.

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.

A three-metre-high, razor wire-topped perimeter fence bristling with CCTV and patrolled by armed military police protects the base.

Behind the fence, aside from the 30 or so radomes, there is reported to be an operations building approximately the size of a football pitch with a 200-seater auditorium for operation briefings.

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 self-contained community is reported to have a small pool hall, a bar, a fast-food restaurant and a general store. It has a bowling alley and a running track.

Schools are sometimes allowed to visit parts of Menwith Hill. People who have been inside report it as akin to a small American town complete with American cars.

Because of its alleged role in lethal operations, the roads next to Menwith Hill have been the site of numerous anti-war protests.

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.