By Ben Kerrigan-
Kremlin’s warning that it could target military sites in the UK because of British support for Ukraine, while adding that it could also hit British diplomats returning to Kyiv, following a defence minister’s ‘provocative’ talk of bombing Russia, represents an escalation of the conflict.
Maria Zakharova, the Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, suggested on Tuesday that strikes could be authorized against NATO states who provide arms to Ukraine.
She warned: ‘Do we understand correctly that for the sake of disrupting the logistics of military supplies, Russia can strike military targets on the territory of those Nato countries that supply arms to the Kyiv regime?
‘After all, this directly leads to deaths and bloodshed on Ukrainian territory. As far as I understand, Britain is one of those countries.’
Her words came after Britain’s Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said that the UK backed Ukrainian air strikes on Russian infrastructure.
He added that it would be ‘completely legitimate’ for British weapons to be used in such attacks, even though none are currently thought to be.
Heappey also said that Britain would re-start the training of Ukrainian troops inside Ukraine if the conflict became ‘frozen’ in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
His remarks were seized upon by the Kremlin, with the defence ministry accusing him of ‘provocation’.
In a significant escalation of tensions, Moscow also warned that it would be prepared to strike back at ‘decision-making centres’ in Kyiv in retaliation – even if British and other Western diplomats were present.
Meanwhile, Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the defence select committee, said Heappey’s remarks had the ‘potential to invite retaliatory attacks into Poland’.
He also warned that Russia could hit western targets outside Ukraine and told The Times that the West was becoming ‘increasingly involved in a proxy war’.
Last week, Uk prime minister, Boris Johnson, announced that Britain will reopen its embassy in Kyiv two months after staff were evacuated as war broke out. The embassy is due to open this week ‘dependent on the security situation’. Melinda Simmons, UK ambassador to Ukraine, is poised to become one of the first diplomats to return
Responding to Mr Heappey’s support for Ukrainian attacks on Russian supply lines, a Kremlin spokesman said: ‘We would like to underline that London’s direct provocation of the Kyiv regime into such actions – if such actions are carried out – will immediately lead to our proportional response.
‘As we have warned, the Russian armed forces are in round-the-clock readiness to launch retaliatory strikes with high-precision long-range weapons at decision-making centres in Kyiv. The presence of advisers from Western countries in the Ukrainian decision-making centres won’t necessarily pose a problem for Russia in making a decision to launch retaliatory action.’
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss gave her support for the UK providing Ukraine with more powerful weapons. She said it was no longer enough to supply ‘defensive weaponry’ as the nature of the battle had changed. She told MPs: ‘For too long there was a false distinction between defensive and offensive weapons. It became an excuse for some to drag their feet. That time has now passed.’