Russia has threatened Britain with consequences after reports confirmed that Ukraine used British-made drones to strike targets inside Russia. Moscow accused London of escalating the war, while the British government said it would continue supplying Kyiv with military equipment.
Russia’s embassy in London said Britain had “deliberately” chosen escalation by providing equipment used against targets on Russian territory.
“London’s actions will inevitably carry consequences for which it will have to answer,” the embassy said. “The deeper its involvement in the conflict and the greater its support for Kyiv’s terrorist machinery, the higher the price it will pay.”
The warning followed reporting by The Sunday Times that Ukraine had used drones produced by two British companies in attacks on Russian military and industrial sites. A military source later confirmed the use of UK-made drones to the BBC.
The Sunday Times identified one system as the Nyan drone produced by Callen-Lenz, a subsidiary of defence group BAE Systems. The newspaper withheld the identity of the second manufacturer for security reasons.
According to the newspaper, the second drone has a range approaching 1,000 kilometres. The Nyan has a reported range of about 240 kilometres.
Ukraine has expanded long-range attacks against Russian oil refineries, military facilities and logistics centres. Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer, has also suffered strikes on its warehouses.
Ukraine says seven of the company’s 10 largest logistics centres have been disabled. The Sunday Times estimated damage linked to attacks involving British drones at more than €40 billion. The BBC cited a military source who put economic damage at more than £35 billion.
A Wildberries warehouse near Moscow was struck during another wave of attacks this week. Regional governor Andrey Vorobyov said firefighters extinguished a fire at the facility. Wildberries described the damage as minor.
Russian officials said about 620 drones headed towards the Moscow region overnight from Monday into Tuesday. Air defences intercepted more than 180.
Ukraine has also faced another series of Russian attacks. Zaporizhzhia regional governor Ivan Fedorov said two people were killed and four injured after Russia launched 1,158 strikes against 59 settlements in the region over 24 hours.
In the Kharkiv region, a Russian missile strike on Pechenihy killed 10 people and injured eight on Tuesday, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram.
Britain rejected Moscow’s warning.
“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,” a Ministry of Defence spokesperson said.
Britain announced in June that it would provide 150,000 drones to Ukraine by the end of 2026 under a £752 million military support package.
Russia has issued repeated warnings to Britain and other countries supplying Ukraine since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Russia now controls about a fifth of Ukrainian territory.
HT
