The Russian government increasingly points directly to the United Kingdom as a potential enemy. Through its embassy in London, Moscow has threatened the country with possible “consequences” following the publication in the British press of reports about the use of British-made drones by the Ukrainian army to attack military and industrial targets on Russian territory.
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“London is deliberately opting for an escalation of the Ukraine crisis, while hypocritically continuing to profess its desire for peace,” wrote the Russian diplomatic delegation on the Telegram channel. “By acting this way, the United Kingdom behaves as an accomplice and co-author of the bloody crimes and terrorist attacks committed by Ukrainian neo-Nazis, with the purpose of stopping Russia and inflicting the maximum possible damage on this country through third parties. London’s actions will inevitably have consequences for which they will have to answer,” the text warns.
“The greater their involvement in the conflict and their support for Kiev’s terrorist machinery, the higher the price to pay,” concludes the Russian warning.
This increase in tension between the two capitals occurs while Ukraine has intensified its attacks against Moscow and other Russian territories, targeting sites such as oil refineries or logistics plants of its giant online sales company Wildberries.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham stated this Tuesday that the United Kingdom will continue to support Ukraine “100%” in its war against the Russian army. “We are providing support so that Ukraine can defend itself, and that has been the British stance throughout this conflict,” Burnham told a group of journalists.
Previously, a spokesperson for the British Ministry of Defence reiterated that the British government remains firm (“shoulder to shoulder”) in its support for Ukraine. “Russia must have no doubt about this Government’s determination to confront Russian aggression, both in Ukraine and against the United Kingdom and our allies,” he said.
This is not the first time Moscow has threatened London for having supplied military material to Ukraine. It has done so in the past both for the supply of drones and, above all, for the Storm Shadow missiles.
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Since February 2022, when Russia launched its large-scale attack on Ukraine, successive British governments (starting with Boris Johnson or Rishi Sunak, and continuing with their Labour successors Keir Starmer and now Burnham) have shown firm determination in their support for Kiev, both alone and in coordination with their European allies. “We are committed to providing Ukraine with all the material it needs to defend itself against this illegal invasion launched by Putin,” said the spokesperson for the British Ministry of Defence.
The Russian warning arises during a wave of successive attacks by Ukraine on enemy territory. According to the Russian army, on the night from Monday to Tuesday the region around Moscow was hit by 620 Ukrainian drones, of which Russian forces were only able to shoot down about a third.
During the night of last Saturday, more than 800 Ukrainian drones reached Russian territory. 600 of them had Moscow as their direct target. The Russian capital suffered “one of the most massive drone attacks in its history,” according to the regional governor. Seven people died as a result of the impacts.
Last April, the British Ministry of Defence announced it would supply Ukraine with tens of thousands more drones, including a large batch of long-range ones.
At the end of July, the new British prime minister gave the green light to the transfer to Kiev of the intellectual property of the Stone Cloak, a tablet-sized jammer that the Ukrainian army already attaches to its drones to confuse Russian detection signals. By giving them the power to produce them themselves, London also ensured it would obtain information from the battlefield about the device’s capabilities, to speed up its development.
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