A top Kremlin aide has issued the most direct threat yet against British military targets, following Prime Minister Andy Burnham's decision to hand Ukraine the blueprints to build its own long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova warned that Britain was now "one step away" from becoming legally complicit in what Moscow calls "terrorism" against Russian civilians, claiming the move would bring "catastrophic consequences" for the UK unless Burnham's government reversed course.
"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, urging British leadership to abandon what she called its "hostile, aggressive line."
The warning follows Russian accusations that Ukraine used British Storm Shadow missiles to strike a shopping centre in the occupied city of Donetsk, with the Kremlin claiming the UK was adding "fuel to the fire" of the conflict.
Despite the escalating threats, Burnham appeared unfazed, brushing off reporters' questions with a pointed response: "Who started the fire?"
Behind the scenes, however, concerns are mounting that Burnham's bold moves could provoke an even more aggressive response from Moscow. It's also emerged that the CIA director made a surprise trip to Moscow this week, reportedly attempting to warn Putin directly against launching any attack on NATO member states.
Since invading Ukraine in 2022, Russia has so far avoided direct conflict with NATO allies like Britain, but tensions are now at their highest point in months.