‘The danger is serious, real, and we must not underestimate it’
Russia has threatened the UK with a “proportional response” if it continues to supply weapons to Ukraine.
James Heappey, the UK’s under-secretary of state for the armed forces, told TimesRadio that it’s “completely legitimate” for Ukraine to be “targeting in Russia’s depth in order to disrupt the logistics that if they weren’t disrupted would directly contribute to death and carnage on Ukrainian soil.”
Russia did not take kindly to his comments.
NEW: Britain supports Ukraine's right to attack Russian territory & to use Western-donated munitions to do so, James Heappey declares.
Defence minister tells @TimesRadio that Moscow started the war & it's 'completely legitimate' for Kyiv to target Russia's 'depth' & logistics
— Lucy Fisher (@LOS_Fisher) April 26, 2022
In a public statement from Russia’s defence ministry, a spokesperson cited “London’s direct provocation of the Kyiv regime” as reasoning for a “proportional response.”
As covered in The Independent, they added: “As we have warned, the Russian Armed Forces are in round-the-clock readiness to launch retaliatory strikes with high-precision long-range weapons at decision-making centres in Kyiv.”
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova seemingly used Heappey’s own logic to suggest that Nato countries could be targeted.
“Do we understand correctly that for the sake of disrupting the logistics of military supplies, Russia can strike military targets on the territory of those Nato countries that supply arms to the Kyiv regime,” she said, according to reports.
“After all, this directly leads to deaths and bloodshed on Ukrainian territory. As far as I understand, Britain is one of those countries.”
Appearing on Russian state TV on April 25, foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said the risk of World War III is “very significant.”
⚡️”Negotiations on Ukraine are unlikely to be effective if Kyiv continues to be pumped with weapons” – Lavrov. pic.twitter.com/2hrN8RvAnB
— BLYSKAVKA (@blyskavka_ua) April 26, 2022
“I would not want to elevate those risks artificially. Many would like that. The danger is serious, real, And we must not underestimate it,” he added.
While maintaining Russia’s innocence, Lavrov accused Nato of engaging “in a war with Russia through a proxy and is arming that proxy. War means war.”
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