Russia Threatens British Factories After UK Shares Storm Shadow Blueprints With Kyiv

Russia has warned that British factories producing drones and missile components for Ukraine could face attack after London agreed to share Storm Shadow blueprints with Kyiv.

Andrei Fedorov, a former Russian deputy foreign minister and senior adviser to Vladimir Putin, said Moscow would not "100 per cent exclude" the possibility of "semi-military action" against manufacturers supplying Ukraine's military. In an interview with BBC's Newsnight, he described strikes by "unknown sources" as a plausible form of retaliation.

Fedorov's remarks came on the same day Prime Minister Andy Burnham visited Kyiv for the first time, a trip that included a sharp rebuke of Russian threats against Britain, which he called "outrageous." Fedorov said Putin was under pressure to "undertake certain measures" against Britain, adding: "Sooner or later, there might be not only verbal but maybe some visible reaction from Russia towards the UK."

Pressed on whether that could involve attacks on British industry, Fedorov said: "There might be different political steps and I cannot exclude 100 per cent that there might be some semi-military, for example." He clarified that "semi-military action" meant "something might happen with enterprises, with the factories which are producing drones for Ukraine." Those targets, he suggested, "could be attacked, not by Russia, but by ... from unknown sources."

The warning intensifies a standoff over Western military support for Kyiv. Last week, British-made drones struck Russian territory for the first time, and Moscow warned that Britain would pay a "higher price" for its role. During Burnham's visit, Ukraine also handed over a "goldmine" of battlefield intelligence meant to help protect Britain from Russian spies and saboteurs.

The Kremlin reacted angrily to the decision to share information on British-made components in Storm Shadows. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the move "fuel to the fire" of the war, drawing a pointed response from Burnham: "Who started the fire? That's the question, isn't it?"

John Healey, the former defense secretary, visited a Storm Shadow factory in 2025, a sign of the scrutiny already focused on Britain's defense industrial base.

The threat against British plants comes as concerns grow over the vulnerability of critical infrastructure. The Telegraph reported over the weekend that hackers linked to the Iranian regime shut down a power plant for four days. Western intelligence sources have also identified Moscow as the driving force behind a series of attacks on armaments factories across Europe, using local gang members in sabotage operations designed to fall short of triggering Article 5, NATO's mutual defense clause.

Fedorov said Britain's membership in NATO only increased the risk of a Russian reaction. Moscow, he said, viewed Burnham's Storm Shadows decision as "direct military involvement" in a conflict that had moved "beyond Ukrainian borders."

According to Bloomberg, Burnham is also expected to travel to Washington to lobby President Donald Trump, who has so far refused to grant Ukraine a license to produce Patriot interceptors as Kyiv's stockpile dwindles under Russian ballistic missile bombardment.