A senior Kremlin adviser has warned that UK factories producing drones for Ukraine could be targeted by "unknown sources" after Britain agreed to share long-range missile blueprints with Kyiv.
Andrei Fedorov, a former deputy foreign minister for Russia, said he could not "100% exclude" the possibility of "semi-military" action against Britain following Andy Burnham's visit to Ukraine's capital.
Kremlin adviser's warning
Speaking to BBC Newsnight, Mr Fedorov said that "sooner or later, there might be not only verbal but maybe some visible reaction from Russia towards the UK".
He elaborated: "There are different discussions how it should look like - it might be so-called technical reaction, maybe some hackers attack from unknown source, not from official level of course. There might be different political steps and I cannot exclude 100% that there might be some semi-military, for example."
When asked to clarify what he meant by "semi-military", he explained: "For example, something might happen with enterprises, with the factories which are producing drones for Ukraine, etc etc."
Questioned whether this implied British factories being militarily attacked by Russia, the adviser responded: "They could be attacked, not by Russia, but by... from unknown sources."
UK's missile blueprint decision
The UK has decided to declassify blueprints for British-made components for the Scalp missile, a French-produced version of the Storm Shadow that has already been used to strike targets in Russia.
This decision has sparked fierce criticism from Russia, with President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov stating it would add "fuel to the fire" of the conflict.
However, Mr Burnham posed a question to reporters in Kyiv: "Who started the fire? That's the question, isn't it?"
During his visit, the Prime Minister called on Ukraine's allies to send more interceptor missiles to Kyiv as Ukraine grapples with ongoing Russian bombardment. He co-chaired his first coalition of the willing meeting, where he stated the group was doing "everything we can" to "dig into our own stocks and help others dig into their stocks".
Ukraine's funding gap
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly appealed for more US-made Patriot interceptor missiles in recent months as Kyiv's stocks have dwindled.
Patriot supplies have been redirected to the Middle East since the outbreak of war with Iran, with Ukraine getting considerably fewer missiles this year than in previous years.
Russia has attempted to exploit the shortage by intensifying its ballistic missile attacks, killing at least 23 people and wounding more than 100 in the past three days alone.
Speaking later on Monday, Mr Zelensky welcomed the discussions between the coalition of the willing but said "now, we have to deal with a funding gap", including the possibility of bringing forward part of the European loan to Ukraine, or unlocking frozen Russian assets.
"The total gap is 27 billion," he said in a post on X. "One of the main options is to bring forward part of the European loan funding this year. But we should not give up on other ideas for how to ensure fair protection in this war - a war that Russia started and continues to prolong."
The Prime Minister also promised "continuity" in the UK's approach to Ukraine, saying "we're not a fair-weather friend, we're here for the long haul".
"Obviously, with a change of prime minister, presumably people might think is there a change of policy - well, I'm here to say there isn't," he told ITV News.
Mr Burnham and Mr Zelensky have also signed an agreement to give the Ministry of Defence, working with selected British companies, access to Ukraine's "Avengers" AI database, Downing Street said. The agreement is anticipated to enable the UK to learn from Ukraine's battlefield experience and develop AI-powered solutions to national security challenges in both nations.
While the focus of the deal is initially on defence and security, officials have stated that the agreement could "revolutionise all parts of public life, from air traffic control to train systems".
The first trial of this new partnership is expected to involve AI sensors providing an additional layer of protection for military bases, defending against protestors and hostile actors. A second project will see the UK and Ukraine collaborating on low-power AI chips that could power a new series of longer-lasting machines capable of operating in harsher environments.
Downing Street described the so-called "Avengers AI Labs" as "a goldmine of battlefield data", which would provide British researchers with "unparalleled access to real-world operational insights and the opportunity to 'plug and play'."
