An adviser to President Putin has said British factories producing drones for Ukraine could be attacked by what he called unknown sources, as part of a possible Russian response to UK military support for Kyiv, in an interview with BBC Newsnight.
Andrei Fedorov, a former Russian deputy foreign minister who advises the Kremlin, was speaking to Adam Fleming on the programme on Monday. Asked what a semi-military response might involve, he said: “For example, something might happen with enterprises, with factories which are producing drones for Ukraine, etc, etc.”
Pressed on whether he meant British factories in Britain being attacked militarily by Russia, he said: “They could be attacked not by Russia, but by from unknown sources.”
Fedorov said pressure was building on Putin to act against the United Kingdom, telling the programme: “There’s a very serious political and public pressure on President Putin today, to undertake certain measures against UK, because he is considering UK as part of the war in Ukraine, and assistance from the UK is considered as a direct involvement of UK in this war.”
Asked where that pressure came from, he said: “It’s coming from the public opinion polls, it’s coming from journalists, from mass media, it is coming from military. And UK, of course, as considered in the context of Ukraine, is evil Number 1.”
He said Putin had described current developments as the opening of Pandora’s box, and that there had been a very negative reaction in the Kremlin.
On what form a response might take, Fedorov told the programme: “In the coming future we will face a new stage of escalation, in the Ukrainian conflict, and sooner or later, there might be not only verbal but maybe some visible reaction from Russia towards the UK.”
He said the options under discussion included a technical reaction, possibly a hacker attack from an unofficial source, along with political steps, and that he could not entirely exclude something semi-military.
Asked whether he personally would be content with such an attack, he said he would not, adding: “The problem is that we are now facing, in front of the danger, that Ukrainian conflict will be beyond Ukrainian borders. And remembering that UK is a member of NATO, and UK is a nuclear state, the risk is, of course, much higher than it was before, even a couple of months ago.”
Challenged on how such an attack could be justified under international law, he said: “Frankly speaking, who cares today about international law?” He said many in Russian society believed the president had waited too long to answer the UK.
On cyber targets, he said a hacker attack would be directed at a specific enterprise or system rather than broadly, and confirmed when asked that this would mean something governmental, security or military related, “especially to production of the drones or some components for Storm Shadow missiles.”
Fedorov linked the Kremlin’s assessment directly to the transfer of missile blueprints, saying the step meant that from Moscow’s point of view Britain was much more involved, and that a system capable of producing missiles, whether Storm Shadow or a Ukrainian modification, would be considerably more effective than what came before.
He described Moscow as considering the actions of the British Prime Minister as direct military involvement in the conflict.
On the domestic picture, Fedorov acknowledged that fuel queues and Ukrainian strikes on warehouses, including those belonging to the online retailers Wildberries and Ozon, were having an effect, but said he could not say public opinion had changed seriously. He noted that parliamentary elections are due on the 18th or 20th of September and that the war is regarded as a consolidating factor for them.
Put to him that anti-war parties had been blocked from standing, he confirmed that Yabloko had been kicked out of the race.
Fedorov holds no current government office, and his remarks carry no official standing. Figures of his kind are used periodically to place a position in the public domain without the Kremlin owning it, and the construction he uses, attacks carried out not by Russia but by unknown sources, is the same formula applied to the sabotage of undersea cables, arson at warehouses across Europe and parcel bombs placed on cargo aircraft.
British defence manufacturing sites have been treated as a protective security concern for some time. MI5 has warned repeatedly about Russian sabotage plots on British soil, and several prosecutions have followed attacks on premises linked to Ukraine, including an arson at a warehouse in Leyton in east London in 2024 for which men were convicted under the National Security Act.
The interview was broadcast on BBC Newsnight on 24 August.
These factories should be better protected in general, we have enough problems with our own people attacking them for the Palestine or Iran causes.
“Unknown sources”…
There’s been too much media coverage of all this and what Britain is doing and supplying to Ukraine. Maybe too late but why not tone it all down. Less publicity, bit more smarts. Hope any UK factories have good levels of security and any intruders can be handled.
Because politicians must be seen grandstanding at all costs, they cannot help themselves.
A pity that they cannot bring themselves to grandstand an expansion in our own armed forces.
👍
That’s a good solid point. More speak quietly and carry a big stick..
We need a big stick, which we don’t have and the folks back home need to understand that there is a real threat.
Too many still don’t get it and speaking quietly won’t get the message through. Trouble is messaging aimed at the home front are heard by anyone listening and it has been thus for at least the last 100 years… Catch 22.
Cheers CR
Hello mate,
I’m not sure that it is “at all costs” I think it is a bit more complex to be honest. Firstly, what is the point of all of our politicians grandstanding on the same point? They are not scoring any points over each other.
For once there is a very clear political consensus and quite right too! We don’t know what intelligence and advice is being fed to the senior politicians within HMG and the official opposition from the intelligence, security and military services. What really impresses me, and concerns me, is that the consensus has held across how many PM’s? 5 now, since the full scale invasion of Ukraine? That suggests we are under more pressure than we are being told, despite the fact that we are getting hints on nearly every other news bulletin!
There is no doubt that rearmament is underway. It isn’t going quickly enough to be sure, but the politicians are constrained by the need to bring the country united along behind the effort. If they don’t they risk breaking the country apart. We need true leadership and frankly I am not convinced that the kind of leadership we need exists at the moment.
There is also an element of deep seated ‘defeatism’, if I can use that word, on certain issues. In particular, around recruitment. The usual whinge about the ‘yuff of today’ really gets my goat. They used to say that about my / our generation until they went down south and recovered the Falklands 1000’s miles from the nearest friendly land. Recruitment is tough at the moment, but given the state of the services, equipment levels and reports that serving members are going on to social media telling youngsters not to bother and it is no wonder recruitment is a particular issue at the moment.
Overcoming these issues means banging on about the threat and highlighting what [little] we are doing about it. Grandstanding might well be a reasonable description in that the leadership element is somewhat limp in the wider context, but in reality when does grandstanding become effective leadership? Because language is the main tool available to politicians, and Churchill was the best user of the English language in history and this lot are well short of that.
As for actions, they need trained engineers and factory workers and factories for them to work in, and products for them to build. We have only just begun to scratch the surface on that front so there is very little that can happen immediately…
So a lack leadership, boxed in to a corner for deliverable actions due decades of stupidly short term decision making and Grandstanding is pretty all that is left..!
At least they are all grandstanding in the same direction, could be worse, they could be arguing instead which would end any chances of carrying the country to where it needs to be. So I don’t necessarily ‘at all costs’, rather it is more about raw, in your scary truths pulling our politicians into line and singing to the same tune. Grandstanding, may be, but I’d take over the alternative anytime.
Cheers CR
Thanks mate!!
@Jim
Last year you were posting that you were a British Army officer and that you served in Afghan and Iraq. You are a lying little faggot who has had no military experience whatsoever. You post on here in attempts to impress the unwary and most of what you put up has been copied and pasted from Wikipedia, or generated by an AI
There is an article written by George A today describing another lying turd claiming to be a Royal Marines colonel. Cowardly scumbags like you who do this sort of thing are an absolute disgrace to our Armed Forces.
Take your meds Dave
you really do, need to calm down
If they actually wemt ahead with this its an act of war.
This was my initial thought, im not sure what further signalling could make their intent clearer? What we do in response is less clear…
It is but it is part of Russia asymmetric probing of how far they can go.
Just as doing gunnery practice in the channel is.
Not subtle but they never are and at the very edge of plausible deniability.
Then we would have to prosecute war against unknown sources, whenever in Russia they may be.
It is noticeable that France handed over the SCALP blue prints first, but we are the target for handing over the STORM SHADOW blue prints.
One of the BBC corespondents made an interesting comment during the PM’s visit to Ukraine, that the UK is enemy no.1 in the Kremlin not so much because of the amount of aid we give the Ukrainians but because we have often set the standard of the aid given. It also highly likely that behind the scenes we are backing up those initiatives with significant efforts of persuasion from a very experienced FCDO to get other to follow suite. Basically, if we can do it so can you.
Leadership comes with risks, both way as Fedorov admits.
Cheers CR
A good analysis.
This is probably as a result of going all in with the new systems but also that this is probably a watered down Storm Shadow of the ‘good enough’ persuasion.
Russia also has a long standing issue with the UK, going back to the Great Game in Afghan, they often end up focusing on us.
Crimean War too.
Good point. Give ’em the slightest excuse and we end up in their sights…
Cheers CR
It’s true.. but it’s even further back to be honest..
France handed over their parts of the missile blueprints which is why Ukraine needed the UK to release the British classified technology in them for it to be of any use.
I think its more of psyops campaign against Russia, TBH as it will take years for Ukraine to actually build and deploy them.
Agreed, but perhaps it is more about dropping a not so subtle hint to the US about providing interceptor tech to Ukraine. However that would also take years to get into production if they simply try to copy it, although Ukraine might surprise everyone. Necessity is the mother of innovation and Ukraine is seriously up against it with Russia’s ballistic missiles, a la London and the V2’s.
Cheers CR
People go on about how ‘weak’ the UK is… but it’s the UK that Russia considers the main enemy now that the US has effectively been neutralised. Strength isn’t always obvious to the casual observer.
Ironically, despite all the talk of a lack of ‘cultural cohesion’ in the UK and Europe more broadly coming from Washington, support for Ukraine remains a bipartisan issue in the UK even among Reform voters.
Washington is only interested in the money it can get from arms sales. It’s a predatory nation that only thinks of itself – and then boasts about how great it is.
I’d still take it with a pinch of salt; Russia is never going to identify the US as their number one enemy, because that completely undermines Trump’s attempts to apologise for Russia’s actions. Meanwhile, we’ve had a fairly consistent run of weak and unpopular leaders; combined with historic lows of patriotism and backbone, threatening the UK has a chance of making the government reconsider the extent of support provided to Ukraine.
That’s not to say Russia definitely doesn’t consider us the biggest threat, but the choice of language could have multiple other implications.
Ditto, to a certain extent. However, the UK is still the world’s fourth most powerful nation as far as ‘soft’ power goes, having just been overtaken by Japan for third place. The UK has powerful high end forces and influences other nations. Their support for Ukraine has been unwavering whereas America is – well, TACO.
I think Russia sees us as more of a threat than we see ourselves.. to Russia the UK is the spider that builds the web.. its behind everything that is anti Russian.
Russia sees the UK as the root of ‘Anglo Saxon’ culture, which has been quite influential and dominant around the globe for the last couple of centuries.
They blame us for the existence of America.
Any country that speaks English as it’s priimary language they see as ‘Anglo Saxon’ culturally.
pps saying threats etc dun dun another song suffer now stand forever millitary motivation. you charge him threats ish under stand mitchell lol and web act also good harry and marv christmass song
I think what is worrying me most is the Anti UK rhetoric that I’m seeing on social media from the UK.. these seem to be genuine UK accounts ( lots of friends etc) that are an the right wing and left wing.. I’m sorry but it’s been Green Party and reform types. They are repeating and amplifying obvious Russian political warfare trolls.. more and more when I post reasonable comments about Ukraine or our military capabilities and deterrence I’m being verbally attacked.. and yes it’s coming from reform and green supports who I have to say I personally think are speaking like traitors in some cases..
They can be narrowed down to:
1) Russia could destroy the UK anytime it wants and they are being kind not to.. usually repeating the insane 1 bomb theory..
2) the UK does not have a nuclear deterrent and it would not scratch Russia.. usually with an it’s an American controlled deterrent and they would not let us use it even if Russia nuked the uk.
3) the RN would be destroyed by they Russian navy in moments.. and the Russian navy has overwhelming forces.. the RN has no ships, no subs.. usually accompanied by aircraft carriers with no planes and they cannot even stop a rubber boat..
4) The UK government is the enemy we should be fighting them not Russia..
5) Ukrainian caused the war and its leaders are continuing it for profit.. Russia is just defending itself.. we should not give them a penny.. with a our government are traitors or incompetent..
I don’t know what is going on with the far left and right dialogues but I think their general anti centrist, anti neoliberal stances have left them open to political warfare infiltration to a high level.. just as the far left essentially became a KGB asset in the Cold War.
It worries me greatly that two movements based around change ( both the greens and restore/reform are looking for change) have essentially become open doors for politician warfare against the UK.. as if true far right radicals, true communists and religious extremists we’re not a big enough threat.. at least those did not involve what I would call normal people…
I think the UK has an actual problem..
Some good points there jonathan.
“Green Party and reform types” left-wing populism vs right-wing populism, two sides of the same coin, and equally as dangerous
“the RN would be destroyed by the Russian navy in moments”
I hate to say it, but there is a reality to this one
Maybe not by the russian Navy solely, but if war broke out today
One saturated attack with conventional ballistic missiles, cruise missle and long-range drones
could flatten BAE, Babcock, and various naval yards, taking out all the new T26/T31 builds as well as docked T45s and Astutes.
The urgency for some long-range GBAD has never been greater
Agreed on the GBAD, but I would say the very best way to make sure the RN is not functionally destroyed is to put the money into making sure its deployed..
An SSN, Frigate, Destroyer or carrier that’s at sea is protected..
There needs to be a massive focus on deployment with the present level of tension.. if there are always 2 SSNs, 2 frigates, 2 destroyers and a carrier at sea then Russians has something serious to think about..
Probably even more than the frigate scandal, the level of deployment is a national problem.. the simple truth if the 1 to 3 rule was something the RN managed well beyond historically… and there should be a massive national focus on ensuring the RN and industry can deliver 1 deployment for every three.. after all what’s the point of 12 SSNs if you level of deployment is 0 for 6 or more destroyers or frigates if your managing 0/1 for 6.. the simple truth is under any reasonable level of ability and deployment the RN should have 2 SSNs deployed and 1 at high readiness, 1 lower readiness and two in bits.. and the same with the T45s…. Maybe the age of the frigates means 2 deployed but less high readiness.. 1 carrier should be out or at worse on very high readiness to dash out in 24hours.
To be honest If I was spending money it would be on making sure the RN was in the Atlantic and high north with 6 meaningful combatants at all times..
I would be maximising what I had as well… why the hell have we not Got NSMs on every surface escort..
Same with the RAF.. why have we not got something like the JSM on typhoon.. if Russia comes for the UK the very first thing the RAF should be set to do is kill every Russian surface combatant within 1500kms of the UK.. they cannot launch cruise missiles if they are dead.
Reform voters are a consistent outlier in polling of support for Ukraine with a significant proportion (perhaps 20%) being anti Ukraine/pro Russia, a position which is essentially non-existent among Con/Lab/LD/Green voters. I put this down to the Reform sub-group (it’s not TBF all Reform voters) being susceptible to propaganda/influence campaigns. But also that much of the fringe right-wing ecosystem (especially in the USA) is openly aligned with Putin.
Tankie element in the Green Party I find tend to be more focused on Gaza, a different issue with direct attacks on the RAF and defence companies and deliberate distortion of narratives about UK defence ties to Israel. It’s not hard to imagine that the GRU are somehow behind some of this activity.
But it’s worth also noting that Facebook is chock full of quite realistic fake accounts. They steal photos from genuine British people, pick a British sounding name, and then ‘friend’ with thousands of other fake troll accounts to trick the algo and increase reach.
Some clues for identifying fake SM accounts:
Google image search of the profile pic often finds the identity-theft victim (but some photos are AI altered to prevent this cross check)
Posting history that just doesn’t look like a real person’s, just a bunch of very random reposts and all comments on a single issue/theme
Lack of personal details, school, hometown etc.
I doubt there will be enough armed police to guard everything. Asking unarmed private security to tackle possibly armed criminals is not fair. Perhaps we should be like India & allow small .32 handguns for licensed, trained civilians? Ex military or police, used to handling firearms. India only allows .32 acp & .32 S&W long.
Wasn’t there some talk very briefly a year or so about raising some form of trained civilian home defence militia? That seemed eminently sensible to me, given the issue you correctly identify with police coverage
This does strike me as increasingly inevitable. Russia would have just the right amount of deniability, and it would be fairly easy I’d think for their agents who must already be here to do a lorry-based attack in the style Ukraine did to Engels. I just hope preparations are being made
More hot air than there is in Trumps y-fronts
I worry that sometimes hot air creates a direction in the flow of things..
Do not talk, or listen, to orks.
By that measure every Russian producer of the chemical weapon used on our soil would be a legitimate target for us too & all the foreign contributors to the Russian war effort in Ukraine are fair game too. Russia is struggling to deal with UKR’s attacks, so adding the possibility of other NATO nations making strikes on Russia as well would make the pit Putin has dug & fallen into for himself far deeper.
This will be such a big help in the prioritisation of our drive for net zero. Imagine the proportion of our CO2 emissions that will disappear once all these factories are destroyed.
And we can reduce our low priority defence budget even further with fewer key locations to defend.
Genius…
You already said that…there seem to be a lot of bores about.
f you had a genuine interest in the defence of the realm and the wellbeing of your fellow citizens, you would be interested in the latest research on how to fund SDR 2025 without increasing taxes.
‘…the most detailed analysis of the cost of our electricity system ever produced…The findings are remarkable. The cheap power pathway saves consumers over £320 billion by 2050 – equivalent to around £540 per household per year. It would make the cost of our electricity a fifth cheaper by 2035, and almost a third cheaper by 2050 – which would be a boon for our economy and the cost of living. Our power in 2050 would still be nearly 80% clean – but the lower cost would make electrification a much more attractive choice for many more consumers.’
Yawn Munro, this is a def3nce site, not a clomate-denial one. You are in the wrong place and becoming a bore with your repetitive climate whining. Go find a more appropriate site for.your rantings.
Always looks a bit silly, doesn’t it…typos when you are trying to be rude…
I’m not trying to be rude but your anti-science stance is predictable and boring.
I am not anti science. Rather, I am all for the scientific method.
‘In scientific inquiry, the criterion of what is taken to be settled, or to be knowledge, is [of the science] being so settled that it is available as a resource in further inquiry; not being settled in such a way as not to be subject to revision in further inquiry.’
John Dewey