Russian envoy claims UK 'now directly involved' in Ukraine war

LONDON/MOSCOW — Moscow's ambassador in London said Thursday Britain was "now directly involved" in Russia's war with Ukraine, following reports Kyiv had fired UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles onto Russian territory for the first time.

"Absolutely, Britain... is now directly involved in this war," Andrei Kelin told Sky News, adding "this firing cannot happen" without UK and NATO support.

In the interview, Kelin was asked if Russia's use of Chinese technology, Iranian drones and missiles, and the alleged deployment of North Korean soldiers meant that those countries were also directly involved in the war.

"On that subject, I can say easily that we have plenty of mercenaries from different countries that are fighting right now on the side of Ukraine," the Russian envoy replied.

British media reported on Wednesday that Ukraine had fired the Storm Shadow weapons into Russia for the first time this week after London gave it the green light for such strikes.

The UK government has refused to confirm or deny the reports, with ministers arguing that public debate around the subject only benefits Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russia claimed earlier Thursday that its air defences had downed two of the missiles, without saying whether they had come down on Russian territory or in Russian-occupied Ukraine.

Washington has given Kyiv its permission to use long-range American missiles -- its Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) -- against military targets inside Russia, a US official told AFP earlier this week.

A senior Ukrainian official confirmed on Tuesday that its military had used the US-supplied missiles to strike inside Russian territory.

Using both the ATACMS and Storm Shadow systems to hit targets inside Russia had been a long-standing Ukrainian request.

Meanwhile, Russian lawmakers approved an almost 30 percent hike in defence spending next year, committing the country to yet more huge outlays on its military offensive against Ukraine. 

Moscow had already ramped up military spending to levels not seen since the Soviet era, pumping out missiles and drones to fire on Ukraine and paying lucrative salaries to its hundreds of thousands of frontline soldiers.

Lawmakers in the lower house State Duma voted to approve the final 

Putin said earlier this year that Moscow was already spending close to nine percent of its economy on defence and security -- the highest level since the Cold War.

That figure includes other parts of its budget that are essentially security spending but which are not classified as "national defence".

Russia has been keen to tout the budget's planned spending on social projects, while downplaying the massive military outlays.

The spending plans "ensure all social obligations, solve development tasks and respond to the challenges faced by our country," Duma Speaker and Putin ally Vyacheslav Volodin said. 

The budget now needs to be rubber-stamped by the upper house of parliament before being signed into law by Putin.