The government in Moscow has threatened to attack military targets in the UK and British diplomats in Kyiv.

Earlier, the Secretary of State for Defense James Heappey said Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory were "completely legitimate" and that if they were carried out with British weapons, it would "not necessarily be a problem".

Jochen Buchsteiner

Political correspondent in London.

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In a war, Ukrainians would have to strike in the enemy's country "to attack their logistics chains, their fuel supplies, their ammunition," he said.

Failure to disrupt Russian logistics before the borders would directly contribute to more death and devastation in Ukraine.

According to the government in Moscow, Ukrainian forces have bombed targets in Russia, including an oil storage facility.

This was not confirmed by Kyiv.

The spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, then turned Heappey's words around: "Do we understand correctly that Russia, in order to disrupt logistics chains, can attack military targets on the territory of those NATO countries that are supplying weapons to the regime in Kyiv - ultimately leading them Does this lead directly to death and bloodshed on Ukrainian soil?” She added: “Britain is one of those countries, as far as I understand it.”

Western presence does not prevent Moscow from attacking

The Russian Ministry of Defense also warned Britain that it would “provoke” Ukraine to carry out military strikes in Russia and carry out such strikes.

"We have warned that Russian forces are on a 24/7 stand-by to carry out retaliatory strikes with long-range, high-precision weapons at decision-making centers in Kyiv," the statement said.

"The presence of Western advisers in the Ukrainian decision-making centers does not necessarily pose a problem for Russia."

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced last week that he would again send diplomats to the British Embassy in Kyiv.

When the war broke out, they had left the capital.

“Depending on the security situation”, the representation should possibly be reopened this week.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Monday that he would also reopen the American embassy in the coming weeks.

Secretary of State Heappey's comments reflect the government's policy position.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in an interview on Tuesday that Britain did not want the conflict to escalate beyond the Ukrainian border, but recognized the Ukrainians' right to defend themselves and pointed out that the Ukrainians were being "attacked from Russian territory". .

At the same time, he contradicted warnings that Russian President Vladimir Putin could use nuclear weapons.

Even further military defeats would not drive Putin to use tactical nuclear weapons, said Johnson.

Rather, the Kremlin ruler has enough domestic political support and room for maneuver to end the war.

In contrast, according to the chairman of the Defense Committee in the British House of Commons, Conservative Tobias Ellwood, Heappey's words "have the potential to invite retaliatory attacks on Poland".

He warned that Russia could attack Western targets outside of Ukraine, saying the West is "increasingly becoming embroiled in proxy warfare."

MEPs want four percent for defense

There is apparently no agreement in the government on the question of whether NATO should deliver combat aircraft to Ukraine.

Asked about a recommendation by Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, Deputy Prime Minister (and Justice Minister) Dominic Raab dodged the question several times on Wednesday.

In a keynote address on security policy that was published in advance, Truss wants to call on the West on Wednesday evening to prepare for a long-term conflict and to increase support for Ukraine.

According to the manuscript, Truss will say that Ukraine's fate is undecided and the West must not be complacent.

"If Putin succeeds here, there will be untold further misery and terrible consequences across Europe and the world," the text reads.

"We would never feel safe again."

Truss wants to advocate not just increased shipments of weapons, tanks and aircraft, but a "new approach" to Western security policy - "one that recognizes that we are witnessing the return of geopolitics." The old architecture, peace and Should guarantee prosperity, had “failed in Ukraine”.

According to Truss, NATO's two-percent target should be viewed "not as a ceiling, but as a floor."

Some British MPs have already called for four percent of GDP to be invested in defense instead of two percent.