LABOUR’S Foreign Secretary David Lammy has shrugged off as ‘bluster’ warnings by Russia that if Ukraine fires its British-provided long-range Storm Shadow missiles into Russia it could lead to a nuclear war.
Ukraine already has supplies of long-range missiles from the UK but at the moment it is only authorised to fire them at targets within its own borders.
Appearing on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme yesterday morning, Lammy refused to confirm that the UK and US are about to permit Ukraine to fire missiles at targets inside Russia, but he warned: ‘This is under careful discussion with the Ukrainians, as we assess what they need as they head into the winter.’
Lammy said that the UK and the US will be discussing the UK-supplied long-range missiles issue at a meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in 12 days time and that their use could be authorised then
Lammy said of Zelensky: ‘He wanted munitions, we sent munitions. He wanted more artillery, we sent AF90 guns.
‘He’s been raising the issue about the long-range missiles particularly now for well over a year and it is important that we are discussing this with allies and understanding how this would or would not contribute to the strategy to repel Putin.’
Kuenssberg asked him: ‘Do you think that Putin is lying when he threatens that there would be nuclear consequences if that request is granted?’
Lammy shrugged it off, replying: ‘I think that what Putin’s doing is throwing dust up into the air. There’s a lot of bluster, that’s his modus operandi.
‘He threatened about tanks, he threatens about missiles, he threatens about nuclear weapons and we cannot be blown off course by this imperialist fascist, effectively, that wants to move into countries willy nilly and if we let him with Ukraine believe me he’ll not stop there.’
Moscow is showing patience but it may run out, Deputy Head of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev warned.
Writing on Telegram, he said: ‘What do Western leaders and their political establishment, which has gotten carried away with the war, think about our country’s reaction to probable missile strikes “deep into the territory”?
‘Well, here’s what they think: the Russians talk a lot about responding with weapons of mass destruction, but do nothing. These are just “verbal interventions”.
‘The Russians will not cross the line. They are just scaring.
‘They don’t need a nuclear conflict, they can lose more, including the support of the Global South. Anyway, who needs the apocalypse? Well, and so on in the same way,’ Medvedev wrote.
‘It is a very bad story with a very difficult outcome. That is why the decision to use nuclear weapons (non-strategic or even strategic) has not been made so far.
‘Russia is showing patience. After all, it is obvious that a nuclear response is an extremely difficult decision with irreversible consequences,’ but, he warned: ‘Any patience comes to an end.’
