Russian ex-official warns U.K. drone plants could face 'unknown sources'

Russia's former Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Fedorov has warned that factories in the United Kingdom supplying drones to Ukraine could become targets. Speaking to the BBC's Newsnight, Fedorov suggested that such attacks might originate from "unknown sources" rather than official Russian forces, in response to the U.K.'s increasing military support for Kyiv.

Fedorov stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin faces pressure from public opinion and domestic media to take action against Britain. "Something might happen with enterprises, with factories, which are producing drones for Ukraine," he told the BBC. "They could be attacked, not by Russia, but from unknown sources."

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Something might happen with enterprises, with factories, which are producing drones for Ukraine. They could be attacked, not by Russia, but from unknown sources.

He did not rule out "semi-military" actions, including cyberattacks or unspecified political measures, all potentially carried out by "unknown sources, not official level, of course." These comments came shortly after British Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced an agreement during a visit to Kyiv to provide Ukraine with classified technology for manufacturing a British/French-designed cruise missile domestically.

While the U.K. has supplied British cruise missiles to Ukraine since 2023, this new deal aims to enable Ukraine to produce French SCALP missiles, which contain British components. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov condemned the agreement, accusing Britain of escalating its involvement in the war and stating that Russia's military was gathering information to target potential production facilities. Russia's embassy in London had previously warned of increased consequences following alleged Ukrainian strikes inside Russia using U.K.-made drones.

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I could not "exclude 100% that there might be some semi-military" action, noting the possibility of cyberattacks, also by "unknown sources, not official level, of course", or unspecified political measures against Britain.