Russia threatens British factory strikes over military support to Ukraine
Developing story first seen 2 hours ago
A Kremlin adviser has given the most explicit warning yet of possible Russian action against UK targets, telling BBC Newsnight that "unknown sources" could mount a "semi-military" response against British drone factories in retaliation for the UK sharing cruise missile blueprints with Ukraine. Andrei Fedorov, Russia's former deputy foreign minister, said Vladimir Putin was under "serious" domestic pressure to act against Britain. The comments came as Prime Minister Andy Burnham confirmed he is likely to travel to the US next month with European leaders to press Donald Trump on Ukraine's defence needs, in what would be his first US visit since taking office in July.
The dispute centres on Britain's decision to hand Ukraine blueprints for British-made components of the Scalp missile, a French variant of the Storm Shadow cruise missile, enabling domestic production. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov separately said Russia's military was already gathering data to locate and destroy any resulting production sites, accusing Britain of "adding fuel to the fire"; Burnham retorted, "who started the fire?" The exchanges followed Burnham's first official trip abroad, to Kyiv, where he met Volodymyr Zelensky and chaired the "coalition of the willing". Ukraine is also seeking 300 US Patriot missiles before winter amid dwindling stockpiles, though Trump has resisted sharing production technology, calling the weapons "incredible" and something to be "very careful" about handing over.
- Kremlin adviser hints at "semi-military" attacks on UK drone factories
- Row follows UK sharing Scalp missile blueprints with Ukraine
- Burnham likely to visit US next month to lobby Trump on Ukraine aid
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Russia's war in Ukraine has drawn Britain and other Western countries deeper into supporting Kyiv, mainly through weapons, funding and training rather than direct military involvement. Tensions have now sharpened after the UK shared technical blueprints allowing Ukraine to build its own components for cruise missiles similar to those Britain has already supplied. Moscow sees this kind of support as active participation in the conflict and has responded with unusually direct warnings.
The key figures involved are Russian officials speaking for or close to the Kremlin, including a former deputy foreign minister and a government spokesman, who have suggested Russia could target British-linked weapons production in retaliation. On the other side is the UK government, now led by Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who has been building closer coordination with European allies over Ukraine's defence needs and is expected to raise the issue with the United States.
This matters because any explicit threat against British soil or industry marks an escalation in rhetoric between Russia and a NATO member, raising questions about how far the war's consequences could spread beyond Ukraine. It also highlights the wider difficulty Western allies face in balancing support for Ukraine with the risk of provoking a direct confrontation with Russia.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Advocates of continued UK support argue that Ukraine has a sovereign right to defend itself against an unprovoked invasion, and that helping it produce Storm Shadow-derived missiles domestically strengthens deterrence without crossing any recognised red line, since the technology has already been supplied and used. They contend that yielding to Kremlin threats of factory strikes would set a dangerous precedent, effectively giving Moscow a veto over British industrial and foreign policy, and that firmness now is the surest way to bring the war to an end on acceptable terms. From this perspective, Burnham's blunt rejoinder reflects a principled refusal to be intimidated out of supporting an ally under attack.
The case against
Others argue that expanding weapons production for Ukraine on British soil raises the risk of direct confrontation with a nuclear-armed state, and that the government has a primary duty to protect UK citizens, workers and infrastructure from retaliation, however remote the threat may seem. They contend that rhetoric from Kremlin-linked figures should not be dismissed lightly, and that ministers ought to weigh the marginal military benefit of blueprint-sharing against the exposure it creates for named factories and their employees. From this vantage point, caution and clearer risk assessment – rather than confident dismissal of Moscow's warnings – would be the more responsible course.
Coverage
- Daily Mail — Russia threatens to attack British factories in ‘semi-military’ response to UK support for Ukraine – as Putin warns ‘Pandora’s box has been opened’
- BBC World — UK drone factories may face attacks from ‘unknown sources’, says Kremlin adviser