Kenneth Glad
Britain is preparing deeper weapons cooperation with Kyiv as senior American and Russian intelligence officials hold talks in Moscow. Military strikes have continued across Ukraine and inside Russia.
Russia has sharpened its warnings to Britain over support for Ukraine, raising the possibility of retaliation against British military facilities both inside and beyond Ukraine. Sky News reported that foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused London of pursuing a hostile policy and warned against further steps that Moscow could view as escalation.
Britain plans to share technical designs that would allow Ukraine to produce Storm Shadow missiles. Sky News also reported that France is sending more interceptors and has already approved the use of French designs for production in Ukraine.
Moscow accused both governments of “playing with fire”. Zakharova urged British residents to consider the “unavoidable catastrophic consequences of the hostile moves of their authorities”, framing the warning as a direct response to continued Western weapons support.
CIA director John Ratcliffe also made an unexpected visit to Moscow for discussions with Sergey Naryshkin, Russia’s foreign intelligence chief. Russian officials described such meetings as established intelligence-service practice and offered few details about the substance of the talks.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Ratcliffe warned Moscow against broadening confrontation with NATO members. Politico said his message focused particularly on Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The Kremlin dismissed the reports as “scare stories”.
Strikes spread across several regions
Russian attacks damaged infrastructure in Poltava, Sumy and Kherson, while residential buildings were struck in Kharkiv, according to Sky News. Ballistic missiles also hit an industrial facility in Kryvyi Rih, where two men were injured and taken to a hospital.
Sky News further reported that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded by calling for stronger measures to protect Ukrainian airspace. His comments followed another night of strikes across several parts of the country.
Inside Russia, online retailer Ozon said drones struck logistics facilities in Ufa and Orenburg. The attacks came amid a broader Ukrainian campaign against Russian economic infrastructure, including commercial and logistics sites.
A separate case in St Petersburg remained under investigation after a serviceman died in a vehicle fire and his wife was injured. Russian authorities opened a criminal case, but had not officially attributed the incident to Ukraine or identified who was responsible.
In Brussels, US Undersecretary of Defense Eldridge Colby said Washington was “remaining committed to NATO”. Secretary General Mark Rutte said the US force presence in Europe would continue to be reviewed as European allies take on a larger role in their own conventional defence.
Sources: Sky News, The Wall Street Journal, Politico
