‘We Won’t Be Bullied’: U.K. Responds to Russian Threat Over Ukraine Drone Support
· Time
The British government has responded after the Russian Embassy told London that it “will pay” for supplying drones to Ukraine. The U.K. drones were reportedly used in mainland strikes this week, for the first time since the full-scale Russia-Ukraine conflict began in 2022.
“We've stood with Ukraine throughout this time with the Russian illegal invasion. We will continue to do so, and we won't be bullied in this way,” said Lilian Greenwood, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Department for Work and Pensions, on Tuesday.
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Prime Minister Andy Burnham also issued a response. “This is the U.K. doing what it has long said it would do, which is to support Ukraine 100% against this illegal war led by Vladimir Putin,” he said Tuesday, regarding the supply of drones to Kyiv.
“We are not fair-weather friends. We will be there in Ukraine's hour of need, and that won't change,” Burnham continued.
The Russian Embassy to the United Kingdom accused the British government of “deliberately opting for an escalation of the Ukraine crisis, while hypocritically professing a desire for peace” in a post on Telegram, following reports that drones manufactured in the U.K. were used against Russia.
“London’s actions will inevitably carry consequences for which it will have to answer,” said the Russian Embassy on Monday. “The deeper its involvement in the conflict, and the greater its support for Kyiv’s terrorist machinery, the higher the price it will pay.”
Read More: Ukraine Launches One of the War’s Largest Drone Attacks, Killing 6
The Times reported Saturday that drones made by two British companies had been used as part of Ukraine’s recent aerial assaults deep within Russia’s mainland for the first time, citing Ukrainian and British defense sources.
A spokesperson for the U.K. Ministry of Defence told TIME on Tuesday: “Russia should be in no doubt about the resolve of this government to stand against Russian aggression, in Ukraine and against the U.K. and our allies,” and that it “stands shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine.”
In April, the defense ministry announced the delivery of 120,000 drones to Kyiv as part of the “biggest ever drone package for Ukraine.” Then, in June, it committed 150,000 additional drones—along with 350 air missiles—to Ukraine by the end of 2026. The support comes at a critical time for Ukraine, with Zelenskyy continuing to decry a lack of aid from Western allies.
The Ministry said that drones were “proving critical to Ukrainian counterattacks across the frontline over the past months, as well as their defense against continued Russian attacks.”
Russia has previously accused the U.K. of involvement in Ukrainian attacksThis is not the first time that Russia has accused the U.K. of directly supporting Ukrainian “terrorist attacks” since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
In September 2024, Russia’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova alleged that flight controllers for drones used in Ukrainian strikes on a fuel depot in the Rostov region were pre-programmed at two locations in the U.K.
“We regard these facts as evidence of London’s approval of the terrorist methods used by the Kyiv regime,” said Zakharova. “Britain’s actual financing and involvement in preparing attacks on the civilian infrastructure and innocent civilians in Russia makes London fully responsible.”
Beyond the supply of drones, the British government has also provided long-range Storm Shadow missiles during the conflict. These stockpiles were reportedly replenished in November, according to Bloomberg.
Ukraine’s Armed Forces have used such missiles for strikes within both Russia and Russian-occupied areas of eastern Ukraine in recent months.
Following a Ukrainian strike on Russia’s Bryansk region with the use of Storm Shadow missiles in March, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the U.K. was complicit in the attacks and that there was blood “on the hands of the British military.”
Russia and Ukraine intensify long-range strikesRussian authorities said that the latest round of overnight strikes saw over 600 drones launched toward Moscow between Monday evening and early Tuesday, while the city’s mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that air defenses took down 180.
In Ukraine, 10 people were killed Tuesday morning following a Russian strike on a “busy intersection” in Pechenihy, Kharkiv, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “We will definitely respond to this Russian strike,” said Zelenskyy, calling on allies to “complement our just kinetic responses with their own actions to put pressure on Russia and support Ukraine.”
Kyiv has ramped up strikes deep within Russian territory in recent months, targeting military locations, oil refineries, and notably warehouses belonging to one of the country’s largest online retailers, Wildberries.
Wildberries confirmed Tuesday that one of its logistics centers was hit in Kyiv’s overnight barrage targeting the Moscow area, and Ukraine has accused the online retailer of distributing "military and dual-use goods” through such warehouses.
In the first strike of its kind targeting Wildberries last month, Zelensky accused Russia of using the logistics facilities “to supply sanctioned components for drone production and navigation equipment.” The retailer’s founder and CEO Tatyana Kim has, alongside the Kremlin, denied the accusations.