
News
Share
Published 09:42 18 Aug 2026 BST
Updated 09:42 18 Aug 2026 BST

Russia has accused Britain of “deliberately opting for an escalation of the Ukraine crisis”, warning that it will pay a price.
A military source told BBC News that UK drones built by two separate British companies had been used in strikes on targets inside Russian territory.
In a statement, the Russian Embassy in London said Britain was acting as “an accomplice and co-perpetrator of the bloody crimes and terrorist attacks”, warning that its actions “will inevitably carry consequences”.
The deeper Britain’s involvement in the conflict, the embassy added, “the higher the price it will pay”.
The strikes have hit military and industrial sites, including refineries and warehouses belonging to Wildberries, the online retailer often described as Russia’s answer to Amazon.
Ukraine says seven of the company’s 10 largest logistics centres have been “disabled”.
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said drones using British components had struck a fuel depot in the Rostov region.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defence said Britain stood “shoulder to shoulder” with Ukraine and remained “committed to providing the equipment Ukraine needs”.
It is the latest jolt in an increasingly tense relationship, one that has already featured Putin’s so-called doomsday radio station and RAF jets scrambled to meet a suspected Russian bomber near UK airspace.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and controls roughly a fifth of the country.
Moscow has given no detail on what its response to the British-built drones might be.
Explore more on these topics:
Princess Eugenie names baby daughter Adelaide Elizabeth in tribute to the late Queen
Princess Eugenie has revealed that her newborn daughter is called Adelaide Elizabeth Annina Brooksbank. She announced the name on Instagram on Monday alongside the first photographs of the two-week-old, one of them showing her older brothers holding her. The 36-year-old said the name honoured “three people we love and admire past and present”, among them […]
News
6h
Irish police to receive pursuit training as five boys killed in motorway crash named locally
Gardaí to receive pursuit training following M9 collision that killed five teenage boys. Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan has confirmed that gardaí will receive special pursuit training following the M9 crash over the weekend. The Garda Representative Association claim no one in An Garda Síochána had received such pursuit training. Mr O’Callaghan said that legislation […]
News
14h
News
The ‘Lucky Dip’ gang and the deadly social media trend that led to fatal crash explained
News