The Kremlin responded Friday in an interview with the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti to the confirmation by Great Britain that it is supplying Ukraine with Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles. Georgiy Muradov, deputy of the Kremlin on the Krim, said Great Britain “risks being destroyed by this decision.
Muradov:
“The United Kingdom runs the risk of turning into a devastated territory. The British are in the vanguard of direct unprovoked aggression against Russia. This conflict had nothing to do with Britain. I would like to believe that not all Britons have yet lost the instinct of self-preservation that the foreigners who rule the British are apparently trying to deprive them of.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry has also reacted to the British decision to send long-range weapons:
“We see this decision as an extremely hostile move by London, aimed at further pumping weapons into Ukraine and leading to a serious escalation of the situation – Britain is clearly prepared to cross all borders and take the conflict to a fundamentally new level in terms of destruction and loss of life. We will take all necessary measures to neutralize the threats.”
Zelensky had a telephone conversation with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Friday in which he thanked him for “irreplaceable military assistance,” he announced via Twitter:
Had a phone call with UK Prime Minister @RishiSunak. Thanked for the significant enhancement of our capabilities with long-range Storm Shadow missiles and other irreplaceable military assistance. We discussed further defense cooperation and coordinated our positions on the eve of…
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 12, 2023
Thread ?on the Storm Shadow land-attack cruise missile delivered by the UK that provides Ukraine, in principle, with an extremely potent long-range strike capability against hardened targets at operational and strategic depth. 1/12 pic.twitter.com/Jcm179wAOZ
– Fabian Hoffmann (@FRHoffmann1) May 11, 2023