Starmer accuses Russia of 'irresponsible rhetoric' as tensions rise over Ukraine
The use of US-supplied long range missiles inside Russia for the first time, is being seen as a major escalation in the war in Ukraine. ITV News Correspondent John Ray and Political Editor Robert Peston report.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer told ITV News the UK "must support" Ukraine, but refused to confirm if he will follow the US and authorise the use of Storm Shadow missiles in Russia, as tensions continue to escalate.
It comes as the Russian military claimed Ukraine fired six US-supplied long-range missiles into Bryansk region overnight.
The Russian Defence Ministry said its military shot down five ATACMSs and damaged one more, with the fragments falling on the territory of an unspecified military facility.
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday that Moscow would respond accordingly to the attack, which marked a “qualitatively new phase of Western war against Russia".
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the strike could be grounds for a nuclear response from Russia, given President Vladimir Putin has updated the country's doctrine.At a press conference during the G20 summit in Brazil, Starmer said: “There’s irresponsible rhetoric coming from Russia, and that is not going to deter our support for Ukraine.”
Debris from the attack sparked a fire, but didn’t inflict any damage or casualties, Russia said. Ukraine claimed they hit a military weapons depot in Bryansk in the middle of the night, but did not specify what weapons they used.
Putin lowered the threshold at which Russian forces could use nuclear weapons on Tuesday morning.
"Russia is the aggressor," Prime Minister Keir Starmer tells ITV News
His endorsement of the new nuclear deterrent policy follows President Biden’s decision to let Ukraine strike targets inside Russia with US-supplied long-range missiles for the first time.
There is speculation that the UK could follow the US and allow Ukraine to use British long-range missiles in Russia.
However, Starmer refused to comment on "operational details", telling ITV News' Robert Peston that the only "winner in that would be Putin and it would undermine Ukraine".
"We must support Ukraine. It matters to Ukraine... But it also impacts every single person in the UK," he added.
Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary David Lammy was asked in the Commons by shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel about how the government would engage with Donald Trump's administration about the war.
Lammy said he discussed the conflict over a dinner with Trump and Starmer, and added: “Donald Trump is a winner not a loser, and I’m sure he wants to ensure that the West is on the winning side.”
The Kremlin criticised Biden's decision on Monday evening, saying he was adding "fuel to the fire" and warned the decision would escalate international tensions.
Tensions have increased in recent months after thousands of North Korean troops were deployed as part of Russia's offensive, sparking concern that their entry could lead to a new phase in the war.
Addressing the European parliament on Tuesday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 11,000 North Korean troops had been deployed, and claimed this could increase to 100,00.
Putin first announced changes in the nuclear doctrine in September, when he chaired a meeting discussing the proposed revisions.
He has previously warned the US and other NATO allies that allowing Ukraine to use Western-supplied longer-range weapons to hit Russian territory would mean that Russia and NATO are at war.
The updated doctrine states that an attack against Russia by a nonnuclear power with the “participation or support of a nuclear power” will be seen as their “joint attack on the Russian Federation.”
It adds that Russia could use nuclear weapons in response to a nuclear strike or a conventional attack posing a “critical threat to sovereignty and territorial integrity” of Russia and its ally Belarus.
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