Russia warned on Thursday that it could strike British military targets inside and outside Ukraine in response to Ukrainian attacks on targets inside Russia using long-range British cruise missiles. The warning, delivered by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova at a news briefing in Moscow, has been made before but without such rhetorical force or urgency.
Zakharova said that London was just "one step away" from becoming legally complicit - in Moscow's eyes - for what she called "terrorism" against Russian civilians and warned of "inevitable catastrophic consequences" unless Britain changed course.
Her reference to "terrorism" was related to the use of the Franco-British Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles by Ukraine to strike targets inside Russia or targets on territory in eastern Ukraine, which Russia claims as its own.
"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," said Zakharova.
"We propose that the British leadership once again carefully analyse the situation and immediately, in the most resolute and unequivocal manner, abandon the hostile, aggressive line, which can only... create the risk of the conflict escalating to an entirely new level," she said.
There was no immediate response from London, which has previously brushed off similar Russian warnings and made it clear it is committed to doing whatever it thinks is necessary to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia.
Western analysts said the strength of the warning reflected Russian fury over Britain's decision - made public on Monday - to allow Kyiv access to classified technology to start its own production of Storm Shadow cruise missiles, capable of carrying out strikes deep within Russia. The Kremlin said on Monday that Britain was methodically adding "fuel to the fire" after the announcement.
France has already given its assent to license the technology for the European missile and Zakharova on Thursday also appeared to threaten Paris too. She said that France and Britain were both "playing with fire" by supplying sensitive missile technology to Ukraine, something she said could have unpredictable consequences.
She also took aim at British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, saying he seemed to think he had a mandate for escalation and had chosen the most dangerous path when it came to Ukraine. Zakharova issued her warning a day after Russia accused Ukraine of firing British Storm Shadow missiles at a shopping centre in the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine in an attack it said wounded civilians, including children.
There was no immediate comment from Ukraine and Reuters could not independently verify the details of the attack. Both sides deny deliberately targeting civilians. Thousands of civilians have been killed since Russia sent its troops into Ukraine in 2022.
Far more Ukrainian civilians have been killed than Russian ones - according to UN data - but Kyiv has escalated its campaign against targets inside Russia this year and the Conflict Intelligence Team, an independent group that tracks the war, estimates that a total of 327 civilians were killed inside Russia in the first seven months of the year, the highest recorded rate since the war began. - Reuters
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