MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Kremlin on Wednesday accused British experts of being involved in a deadly Ukrainian attack on the Russian city of Bryansk using British Storm Shadow missiles, and said it would “consider” Britain’s role.
The governor of the Bryansk region said at least six civilians were killed and 37 injured in Tuesday’s attack, which he called a “terror missile attack” but did not identify the target. Ukraine said it attacked a key factory that produces missile components. Moscow accuses it of deliberately targeting civilians.
Asked by Reuters whether there would be a military response to Britain’s use of missiles against sovereign Russian territory, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia would consider Britain’s involvement.
“It is clear that the launch of these missiles would not have been possible without British experts,” Peskov told reporters. “We are aware of this, we are clear and we will naturally take this into account.”
“A special military operation is being carried out to prevent the Kyiv regime from continuing to commit such barbaric acts,” he said, adding that one of the goals of the operation is to demilitarize Ukraine.
There was no immediate comment from London, although Russia has repeatedly said Ukraine needs Western expertise and Western-provided targeting data and satellite imagery to launch advanced missiles deep into Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kiev had attacked one of the most important military factories in Bryansk, which produces electronic equipment for Russian missiles.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the attack was premeditated and targeted civilians and asked the United Nations to assess what happened.
(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; Writing by Maxim Rodionov; Editing by Guy Falconbridge and Philippa Fletcher)
