Russia ‘must cut all British power and internet cables if Ukraine uses UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles’, State TV pundit demands
- The deployment of the UK’s weapons to Kyiv is said to have infuriated Moscow
- The GPS-guided missiles have a range long enough to strike targets in Crimea
Russia should cut all British power and internet cables the moment Ukraine fires its first UK-supplied Storm Shadow long-range missile, a Kremlin State TV pundit has declared.
Military pundit Vladislav Shurygin told Channel One’s political talk show Vremya Pokazhet that the Kremlin must make a direct threat to London over any use of the recently supplied cruise missiles in the war in Ukraine.
The deployment of the UK’s weapons to Kyiv has infuriated Moscow, with Vladimir Putin’s spokesman declaring the move ‘will demand an adequate response from our military’.
The GPS-guided ground-hugging missiles with a 450kg warhead have a range of around 155 miles, enough to strike targets in annexed Crimea.
Britain is the first country to supply long-range precision missiles to Ukraine. They are set to play a key role in the country’s much-anticipated counter-offensive against its Russian occupiers.
Vladislav Shurygin said on State television that Russia should cut all British power and internet cables the moment Ukraine fires its first UK-supplied Storm Shadow long range missile
The UK has agreed to supply Ukraine with Storm Shadow missiles. The ground-hugging missiles have a range long enough to strike targets in annexed Crimea
Speaking on State television, Shurygin claimed Russian air defences could shoot down the Storm Shadow long-range missiles.
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‘But I think our politically correct response is quite different,’ he said.
‘We need to make a government statement from our leadership that as soon as the first Storm Shadow missile is used on Russian territory, including Crimea, we will nullify all UK infrastructure – all cables, all internet cables.’
Britain has permitted Kyiv use of the powerful missiles in its own sovereign territory – notably in Russian-occupied regions, but not outside Ukraine’s sovereign border.
A former Soviet and Russian army officer, now a prominent military pundit, Shurygin said that any use of Storm Shadows in annexed Crimea would be seen as an attack on Russian territory.
Asked for his reaction to the British deployment of the missiles – each costing £2.2 million – Peskov said: ‘Extremely negative.
‘This will demand an adequate response from our military, which will, naturally, from a military point of view, find corresponding solutions.’
Russia has reportedly mapped Britain’s undersea power and data cables with a view to staging possible sabotage attacks.
The deployment of the UK’s weapons to Kyiv has infuriated Moscow, with Vladimir Putin’s spokesman declaring the move ‘will demand an adequate response from our military’
British defence secretary Ben Wallace said: ‘We will not stand by while Russia kills civilians.
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‘The use of Storm Shadow will allow Ukraine to push back Russian forces based within Ukrainian sovereign territory.’
This was a ‘calibrated and proportionate response’.
Russia had ignored a specific warning from Britain, he said.
‘Russia must recognise that their actions alone have led to such systems being provided,’ said Wallace.
It came as President Zelensky on Wednesday confirmed that his forces have had to put the brakes on Ukraine’s fight-back because of shortages of vital military equipment, including armoured vehicles.
Concerns that military aid pledged by Britain has taken too long to reach the frontline was also raised in the Commons.
Mr Wallace was asked how many of the armoured vehicles promised by the UK have arrived in Ukraine. He was also challenged over why the British-led International Fund for Ukraine, set up in August 2022, is yet to provide Kyiv with any weapons.
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