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Russia has warned it could strike British military targets over the UK’s support for Ukraine.
Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson told the UK to back off on what she called London’s hostile stance on the war, which she said risked taking the conflict to an entirely new level.
Maria Zakharova told the same Moscow news briefing earlier that Britain and France were “playing with fire” by supplying sensitive missile technology to Ukraine.
But the Ministry of Defence has hit back, saying 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.”
Britain announced on Monday it would allow Kyiv access to classified technology to start its own production of Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles, capable of carrying out strikes deep within Russia. France has already given its assent to licence the technology for the European missile.
That decision has drawn strong condemnation from Russia, with president Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying it would add “fuel to the fire” of the conflict.
But Andy Burnham told reporters in Kyiv during a visit earlier this week: “Who started the fire? That’s the question, isn’t it?”
Russian intervention comes as tensions between the Kremlin and Downing Street continue to escalate, a week after Russia’s embassy in the UK said reports that Ukrainian forces had used unmanned aircraft manufactured by two UK companies “confirm that London is deliberately opting for an escalation of the Ukraine crisis”.
But former ministers have said Mr Burnham must not flinch in the face of the threats.
Former foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind told The Independent: “This is probably usual sabre-rattling from Russia.
“It is not impossible they might try a significant cyber attack or something military to appear macho. If they do, they should remember that the UK has offensive cyber capability and could use it!”
Former defence secretary Grant Shapps said: “The real Russian threat to this country is not a missile over Hertfordshire – it is sabotage, cyberattacks and hybrid operations against our defence industry, our undersea cables and our critical national infrastructure, deniably and by proxy. That is where ministers must harden our defences now, not after the fact.
“The answer to intimidation has never been to back away from it. If London flinched every time Moscow rattled the sabre, the sabre would simply be rattled more often, and next time over Poland or the Baltics. We should say plainly to the Kremlin: your threats will not divide us from our allies, they will not slow a single delivery to Kyiv, and the fastest way to end the risk you claim to fear is to withdraw your forces from Ukraine."
Moscow accused Britain of “seeking to contain Russia and inflict maximum damage on it by proxy” and warned that the deeper its involvement becomes, “the higher the price it will pay”.
“London’s actions will inevitably carry consequences for which it will have to answer,” it said.
But Mr Burnham hit back, saying Britain would not be deterred by the threats. The prime minister visited Kyiv this week in his first trip abroad since entering Downing Street.
While in the capital, the UK reaffirmed its “unwavering” commitment to Ukraine, which in turn provided what officials described as a “goldmine” of combat data to enhance British security.
During his visit, the prime minister urged Ukraine’s allies to send more interceptor missiles to Kyiv as Ukraine struggles under continued Russian bombardment.
He co-chaired his first coalition of the willing meeting, where he said the group was doing “everything we can” to “dig into our own stocks and help others dig into their stocks”.
Whilst he was visiting the country, Kremlin adviser Andrei Fedorov warned that British factories manufacturing drones for Ukraine could face targeting by “unknown sources”.
The former deputy foreign minister for Russia stated he could not “100 per cent exclude” the possibility of “semi-military” operations directed at Britain.
Mr Fedorov told BBC Newsnight that “sooner or later, there might be not only verbal, but maybe some visible reaction from Russia towards the UK”.
Asked to elaborate, he said: “There are different discussions about how it should look – it might be a so-called technical reaction, maybe some hacker attack from an unknown source, not from the official level, of course.
“There might be different political steps, and I cannot exclude 100 per cent that there might be some semi-military, for example.”
Pressed to define “semi-military”, he said: “For example, something might happen with enterprises, with the factories which are producing drones for Ukraine, etc etc.”
Asked whether this meant British factories in Britain being attacked militarily by Russia, the adviser said: “They could be attacked, not by Russia, but by ... unknown sources.”
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."
