Britain and Ukraine Jointly Launched Major Cruise Missile Attack on Russian City - Moscow

The Kremlin and the Russian Foreign Ministry have claimed that the British Armed Forces played a central role in a Storm Shadow cruise missile attack on the city of Bryansk, which was launched from Ukrainian territory reportedly from modified Su-24M strike fighters. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov highlighted that the attack “couldn’t have been launched without British specialists,” asserting that the strikes show the necessity of the continued military campaign against Ukraine, as “one of the goals is to demilitarise Kiev and strip it of the ability to carry out attacks like this.” The attack has caused 48 casualties including seven deaths. The Russian Foreign Ministry reported that seven British cruise missiles were used in the attack, claiming that the United Kingdom and other countries supporting the Ukrainain War effort “bear full responsibility” for civilian casualties in Bryansk, and claiming that London was “prepared to bring the conflict to a new level in terms of damage and loss of life” using Ukraine as a proxy.

In January 2024 German Chancellor Olaf Scholtz confirmed that British special forces on the ground in Ukraine were providing vital support to facilitating launches of Storm Shadow cruise missiles against Russian targets. The United Kingdom approved the use of the missiles to strike targets across Russia in September that year, and that year alongside France played a central role in attempting to lobby the United States to allow U.S.-supplied ATACMS ballistic missiles and other munitions to be used for attacks on internationally recognised Russian territory, rather than solely on targets in disputed regions such as Crimea. The UK and France from October to November that year made major deliveries of Storm Shadow and SCALP-EG air launched cruise missiles to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, surging supplies in preparation for renewed strikes on strategic targets deep inside Russia. 

The deployment of Western personnel, including both active duty servicemen and contractors, to support the use of complex equipment on the frontlines to target Russian forces in the Ukrainian theatre has been widespread, with the deployment of British personnel to support use of the Storm Shadow being but one example. Russian forces have consistently singled out Western personnel in the theatre due to the disproportionate effects which neutralising them has often had for the war effort. Following the successful targeting the headquarters of predominantly French European contractors in January 2024, for example, which caused at least 80 casualties 60 or more of which were deaths, Russian state media reported that these personnel were “highly trained specialists who work on specific weapons systems too complex for the average Ukrainian conscripts.” This “put some of the most lethal and long-range weapons in the Ukrainian arsenal out of service until more specialists are found” to replace them.

Commenting on the United Kingdom’s central role in the war effort against Russia, Russian ambassador to the United Kingdom Andrey Kelin in February stated that this had strengthened a consensus that London was an active participant in the conflict. “Britain provides Kiev with political direction, supports it financially and with materiel, shares intelligence, arms, trains, and fights alongside the Ukrainian armed forces and other militarised structures,” he stated, concluding that on this basis: “We have every right to consider London as a de facto party to the conflict.” Kelin further noted that British military planners were stationed at the embassy in Kiev, while British personnel help Ukrainian special services plan operations against Russia. In parallel to its current operations in Ukraine, the United Kingdom has simultaneously played an important role in NATO’s broader military buildup near Russian territory, deploying forces both to the Arctic and across much of Eastern Europe, while planning for an expanded ground force presence in Ukraine itself.

Previously in November 2024, Ambassador Kelin claimed that the first demonstration of Russia’s expanded capability to strike targets across Western Europe using the new Oreshnik hypersonic intermediate range ballistic missile had had a significant impact on British policy, forcing London to take a more cautious approach towards launching joint deep strikes against Russian targets with Ukraine. "Not that they [London's representatives] were scared, but overall they realised that a completely new factor had appeared on the scene - that's the first thing. The second is that we have retaliated for the use of Storm Shadow [long-range cruise missiles] deep inside Russian territory. That's obvious as well. There is a sense that they are being a little more cautious, a little more balanced in their approach to this issue,” he stated.