BBC: UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said London will continue “to support Ukraine 100%”, after Moscow warned of “consequences” following confirmation that British-made drones were used in recent Ukrainian strikes in Russia.
“We are not fair-weather friends, we will be there in Ukraine’s hour of need and that won’t change,” he said.
The Russian embassy in the UK earlier accused Britain of “deliberately opting for an escalation of the Ukraine crisis”, saying “the deeper its involvement in the conflict… the higher the price it will pay”.
Kyiv has stepped up long-range attacks on Moscow and other Russian regions, targeting oil refineries and warehouses of the largest online retailer Wildberries.
Asked on Tuesday about the Russian threat, Burnham maintained that the UK was “providing support so that Ukraine can defend itself and that’s been the British position all the way through this conflict, by previous prime ministers – it remains the case with me”.
This is not the first time that Russia has warned the UK over its role in providing Ukraine with drone technology and Storm Shadow missiles.
The Russian embassy said “London’s actions will inevitably carry consequences for which it will have to answer”, but did not elaborate on the type of threat Moscow was considering.
The latest phase of the war has directly affected Russia’s domestic fuel supplies and dented the Russian economy.
The UK has been one of Ukraine’s biggest international supporters since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. The Ministry of Defence said the UK was “committed to providing the equipment Ukraine needs to defend itself against [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s illegal invasion”.
Two British companies are known to have built drones supplied to Kyiv. A military source confirmed to the BBC that UK drones had been used in recent attacks on Russia that reportedly caused more than £35bn in economic damage.
The Kremlin has regularly singled out the UK – along with the US – for its role in arming and backing Kyiv politically and financially since the start of the war.
It was London – then under Boris Johnson’s leadership – that supplied Ukraine with very effective anti-tank weapons that helped to stop Moscow’s advance on Kyiv in the first few weeks of the war.
The UK has since provided more modern weaponry and has also been actively training Ukrainian soldiers. In July, Burnham showed that Britain’s support would continue by making his first international visit as prime minister to Kyiv.
On Russia’s state TV channels, the anti-UK rhetoric has intensified in recent weeks, with invited experts and lawmakers regularly calling for strikes against the UK.
