Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI:British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said London will continue “to support Ukraine 100 per cent”, after Moscow warned of “consequences” following confirmation that British-made drones were used in recent Ukrainian strikes in Russia, reported BBC.
“We are not fair-weather friends, we will be there in Ukraine’s hour of need and that won’t change,” he said.
The UK has been one of Ukraine’s biggest international supporters since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. The Ministry of Defence said the UK was “committed to providing the equipment Ukraine needs to defend itself against [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s illegal invasion”.
Two British companies are known to have built drones supplied to Kyiv.
The Kremlin has regularly singled out the UK – along with the US – for its role in arming and backing Kyiv politically and financially since the start of the war.
The Russian embassy in the UK earlier accused Britain of “deliberately opting for an escalation of the Ukraine crisis”, saying “the deeper its involvement in the conflict… the higher the price it will pay”.
Kyiv has stepped up longrange attacks on Moscow and other Russian regions, targeting oil refineries and warehouses of the largest online retailer Wildberries. Burnham maintained that the UK was “providing support so that Ukraine can defend itself and that’s been the British position all the way through this conflict, by previous prime ministers – it remains the case with me”.
This is not the first time that Russia has warned the UK over its role in providing Ukraine with drone technology and Storm Shadow missiles. The Russian embassy said “London’s actions will inevitably carry consequences for which it will have to answer”, but did not elaborate on the type of threat Moscow was considering.
