Russia has warned that British military facilities and equipment could become targets if Ukraine uses British-supplied long-range missiles to strike deep inside Russian territory, escalating an already tense confrontation between Moscow and London over Western military support for Kyiv.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday that Britain could face what she described as “catastrophic consequences” if it continues supporting Ukraine’s long-range strike capabilities, while accusing London of moving closer to legal responsibility for attacks that Moscow claims have harmed civilians.
Zakharova said Russia had repeatedly warned that British military installations and equipment could be targeted both inside Ukraine and elsewhere in response to attacks on Russian territory involving British weapons, according to Reuters.
She called on British authorities to abandon what Moscow considers an increasingly hostile policy toward Russia, arguing that continued military assistance to Ukraine could push the conflict into what she described as an entirely new and more dangerous phase.
The latest warning followed Russian accusations that Ukraine had used British-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles in an attack on a shopping center in Russian-controlled Donetsk, where Moscow said civilians, including children, were injured.
Britain has continued to support Ukraine despite Russia’s threats, with the British government saying it remains committed to providing Kyiv with military equipment needed to defend itself against Russia’s invasion and opposing what it described as continued Russian aggression.
During a visit to Kyiv on Aug. 24 to mark Ukraine’s Independence Day, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced that a defense company could release classified information concerning British components used in long-range cruise missiles, as Ukraine and France work toward establishing missile assembly capabilities in Ukraine.
The British Storm Shadow and its French counterpart, known as SCALP, are long-range cruise missiles capable of reaching targets more than 155 miles away, giving Ukraine an ability to strike military positions and infrastructure far beyond the immediate front lines.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov separately accused Britain of directly participating in the conflict and said London’s support for Ukraine was effectively increasing the intensity of the war, reinforcing Moscow’s increasingly confrontational rhetoric toward Western governments supplying Kyiv.
Burnham rejected Russia’s threats during his visit to Ukraine, describing them as unacceptable and insisting that Britain’s support for Kyiv would remain firm despite warnings from Moscow.
Russia had already issued a warning to Britain earlier in August after reports emerged that British-made drones supplied to Ukraine had been used against military and industrial targets inside Russia, reportedly marking the first known use of those drones for deep strikes on the Russian mainland.
Britain’s Ministry of Defense did not confirm whether the British-made drones were involved in those attacks, leaving questions about the extent to which British-supplied systems are being used against targets inside internationally recognized Russian territory.
The latest Russian warning came as President Donald Trump sought to downplay concerns that the conflict could expand into a wider confrontation involving Russia and NATO, telling Axios that he was not worried about Moscow attacking a NATO member.
Separately, Russian Foreign Intelligence Service chief Sergei Naryshkin confirmed Thursday that he had met with CIA Director John Ratcliffe in Moscow earlier in the week, describing the discussions as routine and focused on matters falling within the responsibilities of their intelligence agencies.
Trump also characterized Ratcliffe’s Moscow trip as “semi-routine,” according to Axios, adding another significant diplomatic development to a period of heightened tensions over Ukraine, Western military assistance and the possibility of further escalation between Russia and the West.