British Minister James Heappey’s statement that they “support Ukraine’s bombing of Russia” caused a strong reaction in the Kremlin. While tensions between Russia and NATO have been escalating since the first day of the war, the statement from the UK increased the tension even more.
Moscow accused the West of prolonging the war by shipping weapons to Kiev. The statement also stated that military targets of NATO countries could be hit.
BRITISH MINISTER SAID “TOTALLY LEGAL”
Britain’s Secretary of State for Defense James Heappey said it was “completely legitimate” for Ukraine to use Western weapons to attack Russian military targets.
ZHAROVA REACTS: WE WILL ATTACK NATO COUNTRIES
According to Haberglobal, the spokesperson of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zaharova, reacted to this statement and stated that Russia could hit military targets in Britain and other NATO countries, which send weapons to Ukraine. Zakharova stated that Western diplomats returning to Ukraine’s capital Kiev may also be targeted with bombs.
“ENGLAND IS ONE OF THE RESPONSIBLE COUNTRY”
“In order to cut off the logistics of military shipments, Russia can also hit military targets in NATO countries that supply weapons to the Kyiv regime. This situation leads to death and bloodshed in Ukraine. As far as I understand, one of the countries responsible for this is the UK,” he said.
“EVEN WESTERN AUTHORITIES WE SHOOT”
The Russian Ministry of Defense also described Heappey’s remarks as a provocation and threatened to shoot Western diplomats in Kiev.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said in his statement yesterday, “I would like to emphasize that if the UK provokes Kiev for such actions, we will respond proportionally.”
“The presence of consultants from Western countries does not pose a problem for us to hit the decision centers in Kiev with long-range weapons,” Peskov said.
After Russia withdrew its troops from the capital Kyiv and its surroundings by massing its troops in the east of Ukraine, many countries, including England, announced that they would send their diplomats back to Kiev.
“WEST IS MORE INVOLVEMENT IN THE WAR”
On the other hand, Heappey’s statement also created controversy in England. Tobias Ellwood, Chairman of the Parliamentary Defense Committee, said in a statement to The Times that the minister’s statement could lead Russia to hit military targets belonging to Western countries other than Ukraine, and especially Poland. Ellwood noted that the West is becoming more and more involved in the war in Ukraine.
Russia has stated many times that it considers arms shipments from Western countries to Ukraine as a legitimate target.