Russia warns UK of imminent attack
The warning, delivered by Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova at a news briefing in Moscow, is the strongest direct one to date from Russia to Britain.
Moscow has warned that it could strike British military targets inside and outside Ukraine if Kyiv continues to fire long-range UK-made cruise missiles into Russia.
The warning, delivered by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova at a news briefing in Moscow on Thursday, is the strongest direct threat yet to Britain, a key NATO member and ally of Ukraine.
Zakharova said London was “one step away” from becoming legally complicit in what she described as “terrorism” against Russian civilians, warning of “catastrophic consequences” unless Britain changed course.
“We have repeatedly warned that any British military installations and equipment in Ukraine and beyond its borders could be targeted in response to Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory carried out using British weapons,” she said.
“We propose that the British leadership once again carefully analyse the situation and immediately, in the most resolute and unequivocal manner, abandon the hostile, aggressive line,” she added.
The warning came a day after Moscow accused Ukraine of firing British Storm Shadow missiles to attack a shopping centre in the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk, an attack Russian officials said wounded civilians, including children.
The Kremlin previously accused Britain of adding “fuel to the fire” after London announced it would allow Kyiv access to technology to build Storm Shadow cruise missiles locally. France has already agreed to license the technology for the European missile.
Strikes target Ukrainian infrastructure
The diplomatic warning coincides with a new wave of Russian missile and drone attacks across Ukraine, targeting key infrastructure and leaving at least one person dead and several injured.
“Overnight, Russia carried out a massive strike against Ukraine, targeting ports, grain storage, energy, industry and other infrastructure with ballistic and hypersonic missiles and combat drones,” Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on X.
The Ukrainian air force said air defences downed seven ballistic missiles, one anti-ship cruise missile and nearly 90 percent of the incoming drones.
In Kharkiv, one person was killed and two were injured in a lunchtime attack on a shopping centre, according to regional governor Oleh Syniehubov.
Falling debris in Kyiv damaged a school, shattered windows at a healthcare facility and wounded two people outside the capital. Attacks on industrial and energy sites in the Poltava region cut power to seven settlements.
Steelworks and industrial facilities were struck in Kryvyi rid and Zaporizhzhia, injuring six people in both cities. In Odesa, three people were injured in an hours-long attack which damaged port infrastructure, an educational facility and a multi-storey building.
Russia’s Defence Ministry confirmed it targeted steelworks in Kryvyi rid and Zaporizhzhia, an oil refinery in Poltava, logistics hubs near Kyiv and three ports in Odesa.
In central Russia, the online retailer Ozon said a drone attack damaged a logistics complex in the latest in a series of strikes on its facilities.
Credit: Al-Jazeera
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