Britain’s Armed Forces Minister James Hippie said that Ukraine has the right to use British weapons to strike military targets in Russia. The Russian Defense Ministry warned that if this happens, then Moscow will take retaliatory measures.

The hippie, who is the Deputy Minister of Defense, called it absolutely legal to use British weapons that are supplied to Ukraine in order to destroy military infrastructure in Russia.

Answering a question from BBC Radio 4’s Today presenter about whether it is acceptable for Ukrainians to use British weapons to attack military targets in Russia, James Hippy replied that, firstly, decisions about targets are made by the Ukrainian military, and not by people who produce or export weapons.

“Secondly, it is perfectly legal to hit targets behind enemy lines in order to destroy their logistics and supplies,” the official added, emphasizing that he meant only attacking military infrastructure, and not civilians.

Later, in a conversation with BBC diplomatic correspondent James Landale (his comment later in this article), Defense Department sources further clarified the minister’s statement. They pointed out that the UK does not take any part in aiming weapons at targets, including on Russian territory.

“Target designation is Ukraine’s business, but the UK expects all parties to this conflict to make decisions about targeting in full compliance with the laws of armed conflict,” the sources said.

On Monday, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace announced that the UK would donate a small number of Stormer vehicles equipped with Starstreak anti-aircraft missile launchers to Ukraine to boost Ukrainian forces’ day and night air defense capabilities.

The Russian Defense Ministry has already commented on London’s statements.

“We would like to emphasize that London’s direct provocation of the Kyiv regime to such actions, in the event of an attempt to implement them, will immediately lead to our proportional response. As we warned, the Russian armed forces are in round-the-clock readiness to deliver retaliatory strikes with long-range precision weapons at the centers of acceptance of the corresponding decisions in Kyiv,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.

Russia has already accused Ukraine of hitting targets on its soil, including an oil depot in Belgorod, but Ukrainian forces deny any involvement in the attacks.

Western countries have provided hundreds of millions of dollars of military aid to Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion in February. The Ukrainian authorities say that this is still not enough to repel Russian aggression, and in regular negotiations with Western leaders they ask for more supplies.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused NATO of a proxy war and said that weapons supplied by the West to Ukraine would be a target for Russian troops.

On Monday, Lavrov said the West was adding fuel to the fire by providing military assistance to Ukraine, and once again warned that these actions could “lead to World War III.”

But James Hippie believes that NATO members are very careful in transferring weapons to Ukraine and follow all the rules so that Russia does not have the opportunity to accuse the alliance of open confrontation.

The British Minister of the Armed Forces recalled that Russia was talking about a conflict with NATO even before the start of the war, calling these statements nonsense.

In his opinion, despite the loud statements of Sergei Lavrov, the chances that a full-scale war will break out are negligible, since no one wants such an outcome of the conflict.

James Landale, BBC Diplomatic Correspondent

Ukraine is in an existential war with Russia, so it is not surprising that the Ukrainian military has targeted the infrastructure that is located in Russia.

It is equally unsurprising that the Western powers are not particularly worried if some of their weapons are used in such strikes.

What’s interesting about James Hippie’s remarks is their frankness.

In other conflicts, such as Yemen, British ministers tended to be very reserved about the use of British weapons.

On the one hand, the Deputy Minister of Defense simply demonstrates his usual frankness. He often speaks more like a former military man than a politician.

But, on the other hand, his remarks reflect NATO’s increasingly active involvement in this war: Western powers are providing Ukraine with more and more weapons – and they are getting more powerful.

It is one thing to give Ukraine short-range anti-tank systems, and another to provide it with drones and artillery capable of hitting targets outside the country.

The line between defending Ukraine and attacking Russia is becoming increasingly blurred.