Putin Aide Claims He ‘Feels Sorry’ For UK After Russian Embassy Threats

A top aide to Vladimir Putin has bizarrely declared he “feels sorry” for the UK after Britain was threatened by the Russian Embassy in London over its support for Ukraine.

Moscow’s representatives in the UK warned of the “consequences” following confirmation that British-made drones had been used in recent Ukrainian attacks in Russia.

The embassy claimed Britain was “deliberately opting for an escalation of the Ukraine crisis,” and said the “deeper its involvement in the conflict… the higher the price it will pay”.

UK prime minister Andy Burnham remained unperturbed by the threats on Tuesday, telling reporters that the UK was “providing support so that Ukraine can defend itself and that’s been the British position all the way through this conflict, by previous prime ministers – it remains the case with me”.

Asked about the spat with the UK on Wednesday, Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov tried to deliver yet another threat as he again suggested Britain is directly involved in the war.

He told the media: “I feel sorry for the United Kingdom, if it is going to stand with Ukraine until the very end.

“As for the substance of our Embassy’s comment, it means only one thing: President Vladimir Putin has warned of our right to act in any area of the world’s oceans, should anyone encroach on our interests or our property.

“We have exactly the same right to regard the proudly announced direct involvement of British missile forces in strikes against the Russian Federation as participation in the war. With all the consequences that entails.”

His remarks come after a former deputy foreign minister of Russia told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that many in Moscow interpret the recent strikes from Ukraine as proof the UK is “part of the war”.

“The situation now is very dangerous, because the tension of conflict in Ukraine really is increasing,” Andrei Federov added. “The coming couple of months will face this tension, this escalation which can bring us to totally different situation unlike ever before.”

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