Cameron did not rule out the use of British weapons for Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory

“Just as Russia is attacking inside Ukraine, it is quite understandable why Ukraine feels the need to make sure it defends itself,” Cameron said during a visit to Kiev, during which he pledged, according to the BBC, that Great Britain was ready to provide Ukraine with military aid worth 3 billion pounds (87.5 billion crowns) for as long as necessary.

Russia condemned Cameron’s statement as “another very dangerous statement.” “This is a direct escalation of tensions around the Ukrainian conflict, which could pose a threat to European security,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marija Zakharova said Cameron’s comments amounted to an admission that the West is waging a “hybrid war” with Moscow.

Cameron did not openly approve of Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory using British weapons, but the claim that it is up to the Ukrainians to use the provided weapons shows a change from the previous British position. Because of it, the Ukrainian armed forces have so far only used Storm Shadow long-range missiles for attacks on their own internationally recognized territory, most successfully against the Black Sea Fleet anchored near Russian-occupied Crimea.

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Economy

The British position towards Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory is thus significantly different from the American one. The US allegedly appealed to Kyiv to stop attacks on Russian oil refineries. They fear not only the escalation of the conflict, but also the increase in fuel prices during the election year.

Britain has provided Ukraine with billions of pounds worth of military equipment, including tanks or precision-guided missiles for air defense systems, since the start of the Russian invasion. The already mentioned Storm Shadow missiles with a range of over 250 km were officially delivered by the British a year ago.

Peskov on Friday condemned, in addition to David Cameron, French President Emmanuel Macron, who said this week that the West should consider deploying its troops in Ukraine “if the Russians break through the front lines and Ukraine asks for it.” Peskov described these words as “very dangerous trend.”