Moscow Warns London Over British-Made Drones Used in Russia
Russia has warned the United Kingdom that it will “pay” for British-made drones supplied to Ukraine and reportedly used in attacks deep inside Russian territory. In a statement, the Russian embassy in London accused Britain of becoming an “accomplice and co-author” of the attacks and of deliberately choosing escalation. The warning followed reporting by the Sunday Times that one company involved in producing the drones is a subsidiary of defence group BAE Systems. The newspaper did not name the second company involved, citing security reasons. The UK has been among Ukraine’s strongest supporters since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022, providing almost €30 billion in aid, most of it military. The diplomatic statement came as Ukraine intensified long-range drone operations inside Russia. Russian media, citing Moscow mayor Sergey Sobyanin, said 86 Ukrainian drones approaching the capital had been neutralised from midnight on 18 August. Moscow region governor Andrey Vorobyov later said 620 drones had flown towards the region overnight, with 180 intercepted over the capital region. He reported damage to several buildings, injuries to some people and a strike on a Wildberries warehouse. Ukrainian media, citing monitoring channels, also reported fires at a residential building in Pavlovsky Posad, an aluminium plant in the Moscow region and a house in Lyubertsy. Meanwhile, five people, including a nine-year-old child, were injured in a Russian attack on Izium in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region. The development matters for London because it places British military support for Ukraine at the centre of increasingly direct Russian rhetoric, highlighting the diplomatic and security pressures facing the UK.
Commenti