Russia threatens strikes on British military targets over Storm Shadow missiles

Russia has issued a direct threat against the United Kingdom, warning that British military targets — both on Ukrainian territory and beyond — could come under attack if Kyiv continues using British Storm Shadow cruise missiles to strike Russian territory.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova delivered the warning at a press briefing in Moscow on Thursday, saying that London was “one step away” from becoming legally complicit in what she called “terrorism” against Russian civilians.

“We have repeatedly warned that any British military targets and equipment in Ukraine and beyond could be attacked in response to strikes by Ukrainian armed forces on Russian territory using British weapons,” Zakharova said.

Zakharova also said that the United Kingdom and France were “playing with fire” by supplying missile technology, and called on London to “immediately, in the most resolute and unambiguous manner, abandon its hostile, aggressive course.”

The threat came after the United Kingdom announced on Monday that it would give Kyiv access to classified technology to begin domestic production of long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles capable of striking deep inside Russia. France has already agreed to license the missile’s production technology.

The warning came a day after Moscow accused Ukraine of striking a shopping center in Russian-controlled Donetsk with Storm Shadow missiles — an attack that the Russian side said left civilians injured, including children.

The British Ministry of Defence pushed back firmly against the Russian threats.

“Russia should be in no doubt about our government’s resolve to stand up to Russian aggression — in Ukraine and against the United Kingdom and our allies,” a ministry spokesperson said.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who visited Kyiv earlier this week, refused to back down under the pressure of the threats. Former Defence Secretary Grant Shapps warned that the real Russian threat to Britain lay not in missiles but in “sabotage, cyberattacks and hybrid operations against our defense industry, undersea cables and critical national infrastructure.”

The Kremlin dismissed reports in American media that Russia might attack a NATO member state, denying that CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s visit to Moscow this week was intended to warn against such actions.

Amid the diplomatic standoff, Russia on Thursday launched a fresh wave of missile and drone strikes across Ukraine. Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said the strikes targeted “ports, grain storage facilities, energy, industrial and other infrastructure using ballistic and hypersonic missiles and combat drones.” One person was killed and several were wounded in a number of cities, including Kharkiv, Odessa and Zaporizhzhia; power was cut in seven settlements in Poltava region.