A government minister has insisted Britain will continue to supply Ukraine with military equipment after Russia warned of “consequences” following reports that British-built drones were deployed to hit targets on its mainland for the first time.
According to the Sunday Times, Ukrainian forces used unmanned aircraft manufactured by two UK companies as part of a deep strike campaign.
Russia’s embassy to the UK said in a statement on Monday that the reports “confirm that London is deliberately opting for an escalation of the Ukraine crisis” and accused Britain of “seeking to contain Russia and inflict maximum damage on it by proxy”.
“London’s actions will inevitably carry consequences for which it will have to answer,” it added.
“The deeper its involvement in the conflict and the greater its support for Kyiv’s terrorist machinery, the higher the price it will pay.”
But work and pensions minister Lilian Greenwood said on Tuesday that the UK will continue to “stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine”, despite the warning from Moscow.
“The Russians should be clear that our resolve remains completely steadfast in backing our friends in Ukraine and providing them with the equipment that they need,” she told Sky News.
The warning has raised questions over Putin’s willingness to strike Britain, risking Nato intervention in Russia.
Andrey Fedorov, former deputy foreign minister of Russia, said there is a feeling in Moscow that Nato will not hit back at Russia, even if the UK is attacked.
“Taking into consideration current instability within Nato, current problems within Nato, it’s quite possible that Nato will do nothing,” he told BBC Radio 4.
“[It] will make a statement, or will use Article Four, but not Article Five. It’s linked first of all to Donald Trump, who is still the keeper of the keys in Nato.”
Kyiv has stepped up operations inside Russia this year, increasingly deploying long-range missiles and drone swarms against military industries and energy facilities.
It has also targeted giant depots for Wildberries – Russia’s largest online retailer – burning billions of pounds of merchandise and bringing the war home to the Russian public more than four years into Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The attacks have also contributed to mounting economic damage in Russia.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “Britain stands shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine and we are committed to providing the equipment Ukraine needs to defend itself against 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 UK and our allies.”
Former defence secretary Grant Shapps told The Independent: “Nato undoubtedly has genuine problems, not least the political divisions within the West, but Putin would be a fool to mistake disagreement for weakness in a moment of true crisis.
“Britain, France, Germany and Poland alone spend around $318bn a year on defence, compared with Russia’s $190bn, and I cannot imagine those countries standing aside if a Nato member were deliberately attacked.
“For all Putin’s rhetoric and bluster, his behaviour tells us something important: he still fears what Nato can do when it is stirred into action. His strategy has always been to divide, intimidate and test the Alliance without triggering its overwhelming collective strength. He should be extremely careful not to miscalculate.”
Former national security adviser Lord Ricketts said: “This was a golden opportunity handed to a Russian propagandist to try to intimidate and divide British opinion and he took it with gusto. The Russians have regarded us as a hostile state for many years and we have to expect their sabotage/subversion will continue. But we shouldn’t be spooked by Mr Fedorov.”
Ukraine’s strategy of long-range drone strikes is believed to be aimed at cutting Moscow’s revenue for the war and making Russian citizens feel the impact of the invasion.
It launched three times as many of those strikes in July as it did in January, according to data from Acled, an independent conflict monitor.
Repeatedly hitting deep into Russia has forced its military to stretch air defences over a larger area.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence said on Saturday that it had shot down 598 Ukrainian drones over 19 Russian regions, as well as the Black and Azov Seas and the annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.
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