Russia's nuclear missiles should target "several decision-making centers on British territory" as retaliation for drone attacks on Moscow earlier this week, a Russian state television commentator has said.
The U.K. "planned" drone strikes in the Russian capital earlier this week, according to Alexei Leonkov, who is described as a Russian military expert and frequently appears on state television.
London "directly participates in such operations," Leonkov continued, per a translation posted to social media by journalist Francis Scarr on Wednesday.
Russia's defense ministry said Ukraine had "launched a terrorist attack by unmanned aerial vehicles on objects in the city of Moscow," on Tuesday, saying that eight drones had been used to strike the capital. All drones were intercepted, the Russian government said, and Moscow's mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said there had been "minor damage to several buildings." Kyiv has denied responsibility for the drone attack.
Tensions have increased between Moscow and London, with the latter providing Kyiv with significant military aid for its war effort against Russia. The U.K. was the first to offer up Western main battle tanks to Ukraine's armed forces, and earlier this month, the British government announced it was sending long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles to Ukraine. These are believed to have the longest strike range of any weapons so far provided to Kyiv.
The U.K. has also said it would be part of an "international coalition" to help Ukraine with "procuring F-16 jets," something that had previously been off the table for military aid packages.
"Military expert" Alexei Leonkov claims the UK planned yesterday’s Moscow drone attack and calls for Russia to warn the UK government that it will nuke "decision-making centres" in Britain
— Francis Scarr (@francis_scarr) May 31, 2023
Host Dmitry Suslov agrees and says Russia needs to make Brits more scared of nuclear war pic.twitter.com/jFGV8OwxD5
"The U.K. should also be told that our nuclear missiles will receive flight missions and several decision-making centers on British territory will be the targets," Leonkov told gathered panelists on the state television broadcast, posted to Twitter on Wednesday.
Russia should work "to increase the fear of nuclear war among the British political elite," state media host Dmitry Suslov added, following Leonkov's comments.
Leonkov also referenced a social media post made by former Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, towards the U.K. on Wednesday.
The current deputy chairman of Russia's security council called the U.K. Russia's "eternal enemy," after British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said Ukraine "has the right to project force beyond its borders."
"Legitimate military targets beyond its own border are part of Ukraine's self-defense and we should recognize that," Cleverly said earlier this week, but said newly-supplied long-range missiles should be used within Ukraine.
The U.K. is "de facto leading an undeclared war against Russia," Medvedev tweeted in response.
"Any of its public officials (either military, or civil, who facilitate the war) can be considered as a legitimate military target," he added.
Newsweek has reached out to the British defense ministry via email.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Ellie Cook is a Newsweek security and defense reporter based in London, U.K. Her work focuses largely on the Russia-Ukraine ... Read more
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