Russia has warned the United Kingdom it could face “consequences” for supplying drones to Ukraine that have been used in long-range attacks inside Russian territory. He said many military experts advising the Kremlin are convinced that NATO would not respond forcefully if Russia were to hit the UK. The threat follows reports that Ukraine has been using long-range drones to hit key Russian targets, including oil refineries and logistics facilities.
Drones produced by two British companies have been used in a number of these attacks, according to the findings of an investigation by The Times newspaper in the UK. On Monday night and into early Tuesday, the mayor of Moscow said Ukraine had launched at least 637 drones in the direction of the Russian capital, of which 197 were shot down by Russian air defences. Britain’s Ministry of Defence has not confirmed that its drones have been used to attack Russian territory.
Since the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine in 2022, Moscow has repeatedly warned London and Ukraine’s other Western allies that providing long-range weaponry would be seen as an escalation. After Monday’s warning from the Russian embassy, however, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the UK government would continue to support Ukraine “100 percent”. It remains the case with me.
We are not fair-weather friends.” Here’s a look at why Russia has issued this warning to the UK now and whether there is a risk of a broader confrontation: In April, Britain’s Defence Ministry announced the biggest-ever drone package for Ukraine as it began deliveries of at least 120,000 drones. The package included “thousands of long-range strike drones, intelligence and reconnaissance drones, logistics drones and maritime capabilities”, the ministry said in a statement. Then in June, London announced a 752 million pound ($996m) funding package including 150,000 drones for Ukraine by the end of 2026.
That followed a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Downing Street in June 2025, at which Zelenskyy announced that the two nations would begin coproducing long-range drones. But London’s involvement is not limited to drones. The UK was the first country to pledge modern Western battle tanks for Ukraine – Challenger 2 models – to replace Ukraine’s Soviet-era tanks.
It was also the first to supply Kyiv with Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles to hit Russian forces behind the front lines. The UK has also funded and supplied thousands of air-defence missiles as well as antiarmour missiles, artillery systems and armoured and support vehicles and has provided training to Ukrainian soldiers. Ukraine has stepped up attacks inside Russia this year, increasingly targeting military industrial and energy facilities in a bid to slash Moscow’s oil revenues funding the war and to make citizens feel the impact of the conflict, which began in February 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine.
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