MOSCOW August 24, 2026 – senior Kremlin adviser has suggested that British factories producing drones for Ukraine could be targeted in “semi-military” actions by “unknown sources,” following the UK’s decision to share long-range missile blueprints with Kyiv.
Andrei Fedorov, a former Russian deputy foreign minister who advises the Kremlin, made the comments in an interview on BBC Newsnight on Monday. He said President Vladimir Putin was under “serious” political and public pressure to respond to what Moscow views as Britain’s direct involvement in the war in Ukraine.
“There might be different political steps and I cannot exclude 100% that there might be some semi-military, for example,” Fedorov stated. When asked to elaborate, he said: “For example, something might happen with enterprises, with the factories which are producing drones for Ukraine, etc etc.” Pressed further on whether this meant Russian military strikes on British soil, he replied: “They could be attacked, not by Russia, but by… from unknown sources.”
Fedorov linked the warning to Britain’s recent deepening of military support for Ukraine. This includes allowing European defence firm MBDA to declassify technical information on UK components for the SCALP missile — the French variant of the British Storm Shadow — enabling Ukraine to produce the long-range weapon domestically. The move comes as Ukrainian forces have used Western-supplied systems to strike targets inside Russia.
The remarks coincided with UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s first overseas trip since taking office, a visit to Kyiv where he met President Volodymyr Zelensky. Burnham reaffirmed the UK’s “unwavering” and “steadfast” support, and the two sides agreed to share Ukrainian battlefield data described by British officials as a “goldmine” for defence research. Burnham also plans to travel to the United States next month with European leaders to discuss Ukraine’s defence needs with US President Donald Trump.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov separately criticised the blueprint-sharing decision on Monday, saying it blocked “even the slightest progress” toward peace. He added that the Russian military was already collecting data on potential missile production sites.
Fedorov noted that options under discussion in Moscow included cyber or “hacker” attacks from unofficial sources targeting specific enterprises involved in drone or missile-component production. He dismissed concerns about international law, stating: “Frankly speaking, who cares today about international law?” and highlighted the elevated risks given the UK’s NATO membership and nuclear status.
The comments mark a further escalation in verbal tensions between Moscow and London amid Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine. Britain hosts production facilities for Ukrainian drones, including a plant operated by Ukrspecsystems that aims to manufacture hundreds of unmanned systems monthly for frontline use.
No official response from the UK government to Fedorov’s specific remarks was immediately available.
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