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Russia warned Thursday that it could strike British military targets inside and outside Ukraine if Kyiv uses long-range British cruise missiles against targets deep inside Russian territory, according to reports.
This came a day after Moscow accused Ukraine of striking a shopping center in Russian-controlled Donetsk with British Storm Shadow missiles, wounding civilians, including children.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Thursday that Britain was “one step away” from becoming legally complicit in what she described as civilian-targeted “terrorism,” warning that failure to change course would bring “catastrophic consequences,” Reuters reported.
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“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,” Zakharova said at a news briefing in Moscow.
She urged British leaders to “immediately, in the most resolute and unequivocal manner, abandon the hostile, aggressive line” to prevent the conflict from escalating to an “entirely new level.”
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham visited Ukraine Aug. 24 for Independence Day, when he announced that a defense contractor could release classified information about British components used in the long-range SCALP cruise missile as Ukraine and France seek to establish assembly lines in Ukraine, according to the U.K. government.
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The SCALP missile, the French version of Britain’s Storm Shadow, can strike targets more than 155 miles away.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the U.K. was “participating in the war” and “pouring fuel on the fire.”
A spokesperson for Britain’s Ministry of Defense told Reuters London stood “shoulder to shoulder” with Ukraine and was committed to providing the equipment that Kyiv needed “to defend itself against (President Vladimir) 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 U.K. and our allies,” the spokesperson said.
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During his Kyiv visit, Burnham also hit back at Moscow, condemning Russia’s “outrageous threats” and asserting that Britain’s support for Ukraine would not waver.
Russia also warned Britain Aug. 17 that it would pay a “price” after The Times reported Aug. 15 that British-made drones supplied to Ukraine were used to strike military and industrial targets inside Russia for the very first time.
Britain’s Ministry of Defense did not confirm whether British drones had been used in the strikes.
Zakharova made the remarks as President Donald Trump downplayed concerns about a broader war, telling Axios in a phone interview Thursday he was not concerned Russia would attack a NATO member.
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Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, known as the SVR, confirmed Thursday that he met with CIA Director John Ratcliffe in Moscow earlier this week, Reuters reported.
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Naryshkin characterized the meeting as routine, saying they discussed issues within the scope of their intelligence services, according to Reuters.
Trump similarly described Ratcliffe’s trip as “semi-routine,” according to Axios.
Fox News Digital has reached out to 10 Downing Street for comment.
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