Russia threatens to strike British military targets over supply of missiles to Ukraine

Russia warned on Thursday that it could launch strikes on British military targets inside and outside Ukraine in response to Ukrainian attacks targeting Russian territory using long-range British cruise missiles.

The warning, conveyed by Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova at a press conference in Moscow, was among the sternest Russia has issued to date to Britain, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and a key ally of Ukraine.

Zakharova stated that London was “one step away” from becoming legally complicit in what she described as “terrorism” targeting Russian civilians, an act she said would lead to “severe consequences” unless Britain changed its approach.

She added, “We have repeatedly warned that any British military facilities or equipment in Ukraine or abroad could become targets in retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory using British weapons.”

She continued, “We urge British leadership to carefully reassess the situation and immediately, unequivocally, and clearly abandon its hostile stance, which will only escalate the conflict to an entirely new level.”

Zakharova’s warning came a day after Russia accused Ukraine of firing British Storm Shadow missiles at a shopping center in Donetsk city, in eastern Ukraine under Russian control, in an attack Moscow said resulted in civilian casualties, including children.

The Kremlin said on Monday that Britain was “systematically adding fuel to the fire,” following London’s announcement that it would allow Kyiv to obtain classified technology to begin its own production of long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles, capable of striking deep inside Russian territory.

France has already approved the license for this technology.