Russia has warned it could strike UK targets inside and outside Ukraine in retaliation for British support of Kyiv. The warning follows Prime Minister Andy Burnham's agreement earlier this week to hand Ukraine the blueprints to produce Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles.
Kremlin warns UK and France over missile technology
French President Emmanuel Macron has already said France will supply the technology for the French-produced version of the missile, prompting the Kremlin to warn that both countries are 'playing with fire'. Moscow recently threatened 'consequences' over the reported use of British drones by Ukraine in its recent ramping up of deep strikes into Russia's mainland.
Now, Vladimir Putin's foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has told reporters that the UK is 'one step away' from being viewed as legally complicit in what she called the 'terrorism' against Russia.
'We have repeatedly warned that any British military installations and equipment in Ukraine and beyond its borders could be targeted in response to Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory carried out using British weapons,' she said.
UK Ministry of Defence responds
'We propose that the British leadership once again carefully analyse the situation and immediately, in the most resolute and unequivocal manner, abandon the hostile, aggressive line which can only … create the risk of the conflict escalating to an entirely new level,' Zakharova added.
In response to the warning, Britain's Ministry of Defence reiterated UK support for Ukraine, saying it stands 'shoulder to shoulder' with Kyiv and remains committed to providing the equipment 'to defend itself against Putin's illegal invasion'. Western analysts said the strength of Moscow's warning reflected Russian fury over the move.
Accusations and ongoing attacks
Zakharova issued her warning a day after Russia accused Ukraine of firing British Storm Shadow missiles at a shopping centre in the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine in an attack it said wounded civilians, including children. Both sides deny deliberately targeting civilians.
Thousands of civilians have been killed since Russia sent its troops into Ukraine in 2022. Far more Ukrainian civilians have been killed than Russian ones, according to UN data.
The escalation in rhetoric and attacks has coincided with Putin's mysterious Doomsday Radio once again lurching into life. The Cold War relic, widely believed to form part of a Russian military command-and-control network, has issued the chilling codeword 'obliteration', among dozens of other messages.
Russia has bombarded cities across Ukraine with missiles and drones in renewed onslaughts every few days as Kyiv remains desperately short of US-made Patriot air defence systems. Though the Kremlin insists only war-related targets were attacked, Russia appears determined to hurt Ukrainian businesses and dent the country's economy through attacks on private enterprise after Ukraine's long-range drone strikes caused financial difficulties for Moscow.
Russian drones hit three major distribution centres, destroying depots belonging to a toy store chain and a confectionery company, and damaging another run by an electronics retailer. In addition, Moscow continued its efforts to wreck the Ukrainian power grid before the freezing winter months.
