Kremlin adviser Andrei Fedorov has said that in response to the transfer of military blueprints to Ukraine, there could be partial military attacks on British drone factories from “unknown sources,” the BBC writes.
Fyodorov’s comments follow British Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s statement that he plans to travel to the United States in September to lobby European leaders on Ukraine’s defense needs. In an interview with Bloomberg, Burnham said that he would travel to New York in September, where the UN General Assembly will also be held. Although the details of the visit have not yet been fully confirmed, it is likely that he will go to the United States. It will be Burnham’s first visit to the United States since he took office in July.
On the 24th of August, as he left Ukraine, Burnham said he was clear about what he had to do in the coming weeks. During his visit to Ukraine, the British leader promised to keep up the pressure on Russia. Britain had also agreed to hand over to Ukraine blueprints of British-made components for the French Scalp missile, which is France’s version of the British Storm Shadow. The blueprints would allow Ukraine to build its own long-range missiles.
Fedorov said Putin was feeling strong pressure to use certain means against Britain. Asked by BBC Newsnight where the pressure was coming from, Fedorov said the sources were public opinion polls, journalists and the media. Asked what a partial military response might look like, the Kremlin adviser said it could have something to do with factories that produce drones for Ukraine. The attack would come not from Russia, but from an “unknown source.”
Fedorov’s comments echo those of Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on the 24th of August.
He criticized the release of the blueprints to the Ukrainians, saying it prevented even the smallest steps towards peace. Peskov told reporters that the Russian military was already collecting data to find and destroy missile production facilities. He added that Britain was involved in the war, supporting the “Kyiv regime,” and regularly and methodically adding fuel to the fire. Burnham responded by asking who started the fire.
The visit to Ukraine was Burnham’s first official international visit. He met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv and chaired his first meeting of the Goodwill Coalition, a coalition set up by his predecessor Keir Starmer.
Burnham has repeatedly reaffirmed Britain’s support for Ukraine. Kyiv has relied on a US-supplied supply of Patriot missiles, but the war in Iran has left them depleted, leaving Ukraine more vulnerable to attacks from Moscow. Zelensky said he hopes to get another 300 before winter. Russia is expected to step up its attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure as the cold weather sets in, as it has in previous years.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Burnham said he believed the issue was solvable, noting that the Americans were not the only ones who could supply the Patriots. He said there were other players, and it would likely be a multi-layered solution that would involve extensive negotiations.
In July, just three weeks after the US offered Ukraine the right to produce its own Patriot missiles, President Donald Trump backed down from the offer.
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