Russia Threatens Strikes on UK Military Targets Over Ukraine

Russia issued a fresh warning Thursday, saying British military assets could become targets both in Ukraine and beyond if Kyiv uses U.K.-supplied long-range cruise missiles to hit sites deep inside Russian territory, according to reports.

The threat followed Moscow’s claim a day earlier that Ukraine had used British Storm Shadow missiles in an attack on a shopping center in Russian-controlled Donetsk, leaving civilians injured, among them children.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Thursday that Britain was “one step away” from legal complicity in what she called “terrorism” aimed at civilians. If London does not change its approach, she warned, the consequences would be “catastrophic,” Reuters reported.

“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,” Zakharova told reporters during a briefing in Moscow.

She also called on British officials to “immediately, in the most resolute and unequivocal manner, abandon the hostile, aggressive line,” arguing that continued support could push the war into an “entirely new level” of escalation.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham traveled to Ukraine on Aug. 24 for Independence Day, where he announced that a defense contractor could disclose classified details about British components used in the long-range SCALP cruise missile as Ukraine and France work to set up assembly lines inside Ukraine, according to the U.K. government.

The SCALP missile, the French version of Britain’s Storm Shadow, can strike targets more than 155 miles away.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the U.K. was “participating in the war” and “pouring fuel on the fire.”

A spokesperson for Britain’s Ministry of Defense told Reuters London stood “shoulder to shoulder” with Ukraine and was committed to providing the equipment that Kyiv needed “to defend itself against (President Vladimir) Putin’s illegal invasion.”

“Russia should be in no doubt about the resolve of this government to stand against Russian aggression in Ukraine and against the U.K. and our allies,” the spokesperson said.

During his Kyiv visit, Burnham also hit back at Moscow, condemning Russia’s “outrageous threats” and asserting that Britain’s support for Ukraine would not waver.

Russia also warned Britain Aug. 17 that it would pay a “price” after The Times reported Aug. 15 that British-made drones supplied to Ukraine were used to strike military and industrial targets inside Russia for the very first time.

Britain’s Ministry of Defense did not confirm whether British drones had been used in the strikes.

Zakharova made the remarks as President Donald Trump downplayed concerns about a broader war, telling Axios in a phone interview Thursday he was not concerned Russia would attack a NATO member.

Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, known as the SVR, confirmed Thursday that he met with CIA Director John Ratcliffe in Moscow earlier this week, Reuters reported.

Naryshkin characterized the meeting as routine, saying they discussed issues within the scope of their intelligence services, according to Reuters.

Trump similarly described Ratcliffe’s trip as “semi-routine,” according to Axios.

News Outlet has reached out to 10 Downing Street for comment.