Russia has accused the UK of being an accomplice to “terrorism and war crimes”.
Russia has accused the UK of being an accomplice to ‘terrorism and war crimes’ (Image: Getty)
Russia has threatened to strike alleged British military facilities in Ukraine as it accused the UK of being an accomplice to “terrorism and war crimes”. Britain’s chargé d’affaires in Moscow, Danae Dholakia, was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry and handed a formal protest over the UK’s rapidly increasing supply of drones and long-range weapons to Kyiv.
In a sinister escalation, Vladimir Putin’s officials declared on Friday (September 18) that any British facility used to launch attacks on Russian territory would become a “legitimate target”. Moscow also warned that it reserved the right to take unspecified “countermeasures” in what it claimed would be an act of self-defence. The Foreign Ministry said: “We reaffirmed that any British military facilities in Ukraine used to carry out strikes on Russian territory are legitimate targets.
Burnham’s Government has failed to explain how it will raise defence spending to 3.5% (Image: Getty)
“We stressed that London bears full responsibility for any further adverse developments in the situation.”
The Kremlin did not identify any alleged British facility in Ukraine or provide evidence that UK personnel were directly involved in launching attacks.
Russia accused Britain of adopting a “fiercely confrontational” policy intended to prolong and escalate the war, supposedly weakening the prospect of a negotiated settlement. The UK was “only pushing the prospect of a political settlement further away”. Russian officials claimed Britain was putting itself “in the position of an accomplice” to Ukrainian actions that Moscow branded terrorism and war crimes.
The warning to the Burnham Government came after it failed to explain how it would raise defence spending to 3.5% of GDP without tax hikes or welfare cuts, prompting opponents to caution that social security depends entirely on prioritising national defence.
The full-scale invasion of Ukraine has been going on for over four and a half years (Image: Getty)
Dholakia was presented with a list of international obligations that Russia alleges Britain is breaching by supporting Ukraine, according to Russian reports. She was reportedly warned of the “comprehensive risks” posed by British policy and told that London’s efforts were futile because Russia supposedly retained the battlefield initiative – despite the recent loss of territory to Ukrainian advances.
Moscow demanded that Britain abandon its “escalation” and bring its conduct into line with international law.
Dholakia has been the deputy head of Britain’s Moscow mission since June 2025. She serves as chargé d’affaires when Ambassador Nigel Casey is absent.
The diplomatic showdown comes after Britain pledged to provide Ukraine with more than 120,000 drones during 2026. Some 25,000 had been delivered by September 8, including attack, reconnaissance and interceptor drones, with shipments expected to accelerate before winter.
Britain also recently announced a £100million air-defence package including Patriot missiles, alongside tens of thousands of long-range artillery rounds and support for Ukrainian missile production. The UK maintains supplying weapons to enable Ukraine to defend itself against Russia’s invasion and repeated attacks on civilian and energy infrastructure.