[TASS/Yonhap]
[TASS/Yonhap]

Russia's Foreign Ministry summoned the British chargé d'affaires in Moscow, Danae Dolakia, to lodge a formal protest over the United Kingdom's support for Ukraine.

According to Reuters, AFP and other news agencies, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday (local time) that Britain was "volunteering to be complicit in the atrocities committed by the Kyiv regime" by expanding the supply of weapons to Ukraine, including drones, and providing long-range arms. "This can only be characterized as terrorism and war crimes," the ministry said.

The ministry said it had handed over a list of international obligations it accused Britain of violating, and called on London to "abandon the path of escalation and act in accordance with its relevant international obligations."

It added that "full responsibility for the deterioration of the situation lies with Britain," and that "Russia has the right to take retaliatory measures in accordance with its right to self-defense." The ministry also said British military facilities in Ukraine used in attacks on Russia were "legitimate targets for Russian forces."

Britain is a member of the "Coalition of the Willing," formed to provide security support for Ukraine after the war. New Prime Minister Andy Burnham has been a vocal backer of Kyiv, co-chairing a Coalition of the Willing summit there on Aug. 24, the 35th anniversary of Ukrainian independence.


keg@heraldcorp.com