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British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said the United Kingdom will continue to offer its full and unwavering support to Ukraine despite Russian threats of “consequences.”
His remarks came after the Russian Embassy in London on Monday warned Westminster would “pay” after UK-made drones were reportedly used in Ukrainian strikes on Russian soil.
The embassy accused the UK of “deliberately opting for an escalation of the Ukraine crisis” and of “acting as an accomplice and co-perpetrator” in Ukrainian attacks.
Responding to the embassy’s statement during a trip to Wolverhampton on Tuesday, Burnham said: “This is the UK doing what it has long said it would do, which is to support Ukraine 100% against this illegal war led by Vladimir Putin.”
“We are providing support so that Ukraine can defend itself,” he continued, adding that the UK was not a “fair-weather” friend and that it would “be there in Ukraine’s hour of need.”
Ukraine has been ramping up what it calls its “long-range sanctions” on Russia in recent months, launching deep strikes against energy infrastructure and logistics facilities as it seeks to cripple Moscow’s economy and grind down Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war machine.
Over the weekend, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces struck an oil facility in Ust-Luga, close to the Estonian border, as well as Russia’s Progress rocket and space centre, a facility involved in the manufacturing and operation of space launch vehicles and rockets, as part of this strategy.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has said that launch vehicles produced at the Progress centre are used to “place Russian military, reconnaissance, and communications spacecraft into orbit.”
Russian strikes on Kharkiv kill 10
It comes as Russian missile strikes on a village in the northeastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv on Tuesday killed at least 10 people and injured 18 others, according to local authorities.
Oleh Syniehubov, the head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, said the attack on Pechenihy also damaged 10 houses and multiple cars and shops.
Russian forces used two Banderol cruise missiles in the strikes, he added.