Foreign intelligence has warned that Russia will likely conduct ‘lethal attacks’ against the West if Ukraine is allowed to use long-range weapons.
Ukraine has long been asking for permission to use Western drones to help in its fight against Russia, but the US and UK have held back for fear of escalation.
US officials have now told the New York Times that Russia could respond in a variety of ways if Ukraine is given the go-ahead to use western missiles to strike Russian territory.
These range from arson and sabotage on facilities in Europe, to potentially ‘lethal’ attacks on military bases in the United States and Europe.
Officials have attributed previous acts of sabotage in Europe to Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU.
There are worries they could expand their campaign if – or when – Ukraine is allowed to use western-made missiles in the war against Putin’s forces.
Russia has been able to orchestrate sabotage attacks within the UK while never setting foot on British soil.
Earlier this year, a British man was charged with plotting arson attacks on Ukraine-linked businesses in London after allegedly being recruited as a Russian spy.
It took more than four hours for 60 firefighters to tackle a March 20 fire at the Staffa Road industrial estate – a Ukrainian-linked warehouse in east London.
President Joe Biden has allowed Ukraine to fire US-provided missiles across the border into Russia in self-defence but largely limited the distance over concerns about further escalating the conflict and facing sabotage attacks from Russia.
Foreign secretaries David Lammy and Antony Blinken both cited the potential approval of western missiles in Ukraine as a repercussion for Russia getting Iranian missiles.
CIA director William Burns previously warned of the growing and ‘troubling’ defence relationship involving Russia, China, Iran and North Korea that he said threatens both Ukraine and Western allies in the Middle East.
All in all, these events have frustrated Putin, who is now issuing direct threats of war with the west.
Putin has claimed if the UK/US allow the use of western-made long range missiles in the war with Ukraine, war would involve ‘Nato countries, the US, European countries’.
It is possible, if there is a direct provocation, that Russia could retaliate, as intelligence services have warned. Whether this would be a direct attack on the west or sabotage attacks is unclear.
But as Russian expert Keir Giles told Metro earlier this month: ‘There’s no reason to think that after so many demonstrations of empty Russian threats, an extension of the use of missiles already in service would be the final straw that would trigger a suicidal response from the Kremlin.’
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