Russia is threatening to unleash new ‘massive’ missiles capable of striking anywhere in Europe after dozens of US and UK-made rockets were fired into Kursk.
In a dramatic development on Wednesday, up to 12 Storm Shadow rockets were launched at targets in the southern Russian province where Kyiv troops have seized territory.
The Mail understands the attacks, which followed Ukraine firing US-supplied ATACMS missiles on Tuesday, were personally approved by Sir Keir Starmer.
In retaliation, Russia is now preparing to launch its deadly RS-26 or Frontier missiles from a base in Astrakhan by the Caspian sea, local media has reported.
The weapons weigh up to 50tonnes and have a 3,600mile-range, although they have never been used in combat.
Kyiv has instead been hit by smaller, slower Iskander missiles since the war began in February 2022.
The Kremlin has already warned this week it would respond harshly to the sanctioning of the use of US and UK-made missiles on Russian territory.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with New People party’s leader Alexey Nechaev in Moscow on November 19
ATACMS – Army Tactical Missile – being fired from an M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System
The Storm Shadow missiles struck a building with an underground ‘control room’ where Russian and North Korean military officials are believed to be holed up
According to Moskovky Komsomolets, a Moscow-based newspaper, a military expert had too openly talked about retaliation.
Timur Syrlanov, a Russian military analyst, said Ukraine should be ‘trembling’ over the use of the RS-26 rocket.
The newspaper reported he said: ‘In this situation, we will not use nuclear weapons, but the neo-Nazis and their Western allies, I think, will appreciate in the coming days the blow that will be dealt to Ukraine’s critical infrastructure and, possibly, to targets in Kyiv itself.
‘Let them tremble, be afraid, and wait for landings anywhere. Moreover, the enemy understands perfectly well that our weapons can reach any targets throughout Ukraine.’
Putin yesterday provocatively signed off changes to the country’s laws on nuclear weapons to make it easier for them to be deployed against Ukraine.
And his foreign minister Sergei Lavrov chillingly warned that the strikes were a clear signal that Kyiv ‘wanted to escalate’ and that Russia would ‘react accordingly’.
The terrifying sabre rattling was confirmed by the Russian President’s close ally Dmitry Medvedev. Posting on X, the Deputy Chair of Russia’s security council said it meant ‘World War III’.
It came after Kyiv launched six ‘ATACM’ missiles from an undisclosed location over the border into Russian territory on Tuesday.
The RS-26 or Frontier missiles weigh up to 50 tonnes and have a 3,600 mile-range, although they have never been used in combat
Images being shared on social media show what appear to be fragments of a British Storm Shadow missile in Marino, Kursk
Britain’s Storm Shadow missiles are capable of dodging air defences – making them a nightmare attack weapon for their enemy
Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a press conference on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 19
One image shows a written indentation on a chunk of metal reading: ‘Storm Shadow’
The strikes triggered a fiery explosion at a depot in Karachev, believed to be storing ammunition supplied by North Korea, around 75miles from the Ukrainian border.
However as tensions escalate in the Russia-Ukraine war, the Defence Secretary announced the UK military would be hit by £500million worth of cuts.
John Healy said the Labour Government would scrap six major programmes across the Armed Forces, including the Army’s main fleet of drones and two amphibious assault ships – HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark.
The plans have been criticised by former defence secretary Ben Wallace who argued they would send a message of weakness to the UK’s adversaries.
Writing in The Telegraph, he said: ‘For our enemies to be deterred they must know we intend to have no holes in our capabilities, or at least we will soon be upgrading them.
‘To tell the world we are scaling back our capabilities when our enemies are doing the opposite is pure folly.
‘No one is fooled by the tired and misleading excuse by Labour that “we have to wait for a defence review” – yet another one.’
Fragments of the Storm Shadow missiles were recovered by Russian military bloggers on Wednesday afternoon and unverified pictures posted on social media.
A fiery explosion lit up the night sky around 77 miles from the nearest Ukrainian border at an ammunition store in Karachev, in Russia’s Bryansk region, on Tuesday
Vladimir Putin ‘s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov (pictured) chillingly warned that Moscow would ‘react accordingly’ as he described the strike as a signal Kyiv ‘wanted to escalate’
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky attends a joint press conference with Denmark’s prime minister at the presidential palace in Kyiv, on November 19
The pieces were seemingly stamped with the words Storm Shadow.
Multiple explosions could be heard – preceded by high-pitched whistling apparently from incoming missiles – in videos recorded near the village of Maryino. The footage also showed smoke rising from buildings.
Unconfirmed reports suggested Ukraine had targeted an underground command and control facility 50 miles inside Russia.
The navigational data and satellite intelligence which facilitated the air strikes was understood to have been provided by the US.
The strikes, which have not been confirmed by the British Government, follow the use of UK Storm Shadows to eliminate Russian military infrastructure in Crimea.
The significant difference is that while the UK regards occupied Crimea as Ukrainian sovereign territory, Kursk is recognised by Britain as belonging to Russia.
It is understood that the last time British weapons were used on Russian sovereign territory was during clashes between an Allied force and the Bolsheviks in the Arctic Archangel region in 1918-19. Before that it was during the Crimean War in the 1850s.
Speaking in the Commons, Mr Healey declined to confirm the reports or divulge any operational details.
He told MPs: ‘We have seen over recent weeks a significant change in the [Russian] action and the rhetoric on Ukraine. We as a nation and a Government are doubling down on our support for Ukraine and intend to do more.’
