French Ambassador Pierre Levy was also summoned to the Foreign Ministry. Moscow has not yet disclosed the details of the meeting…reports Asian Lite News
Days after Foreign Secretary David Cameron said that Ukraine had the right to use long-range missiles sent by his country to strike deep inside Russia, Moscow on Monday conveyed that this facility could invite retaliation on British targets.
UK’s Ambassador to Russia, Nigel Casey was summoned to the Foreign Ministry and told Moscow will retaliate against British targets in Ukraine or elsewhere if Ukraine strikes Russian territory with UK-provided missiles, RT reported.
“Casey was warned that the response to Ukrainian strikes using British weapons on Russian territory could be any British military facilities and equipment on the territory of Ukraine and beyond,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement following the meeting.
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Cameron’s statements to the contrary “de facto recognised his country as a party to the conflict”, it said, adding that Russia understands Cameron’s comments as “evidence of a serious escalation and confirmation of London’s increasing involvement in military operations on the side of Kiev”.
The UK envoy was urged to “think about the inevitable catastrophic consequences of such hostile steps from London and to immediately refute in the most decisive and unequivocal manner the bellicose provocative statements of the head of the Foreign Office”.
French Ambassador Pierre Levy was also summoned to the Foreign Ministry. Moscow has not yet disclosed the details of the meeting.
Russia has taken strong exception to French President Emmanuel Macron’s pitch for NATO troops in Ukraine to prevent a Russian breakthrough
Earlier in the day, the Russian Defense Ministry announced an exercise to test the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons. President Vladimir Putin ordered the drills after “provocative statements and threats” by Western officials, the military said.
Russia announces tactical N-forces exercises
Meanwhile, Russia said that it will conduct an exercise of its tactical nuclear forces on the orders of President Vladimir Putin, the Defence Ministry announced.
The announcement did not say if the missiles would be equipped with nuclear warheads. Russia has previously carried out nuclear forces training without nuclear warheads.
“As part of the exercise, a series of activities will be carried out to practice the preparation and use of non-strategic nuclear weapons,” the Defence Ministry in Moscow said.
It was initially unclear when and where exactly the exercise, in which the southern defence district and the naval forces are involved, would begin.
In October, the Russian military fired two intercontinental missiles and several cruise missiles for training and deterrence purposes. It justified the exercise, which it had announced, by alleging “provocative statements and threats by individual Western officials against the Russian Federation.”
Since the start of its full-scale war against Ukraine more than two years ago, Russian representatives have repeatedly tried to test international support for Kyiv by stirring up fears of a nuclear war.
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