Moscow Warns Europe Is ‘Playing With Fire’ Over Ukraine Support

By Mintesinot Nigussie  |  August 28, 2026

Russia has warned Britain and France that their military support for Ukraine risks triggering unpredictable consequences, as Moscow accused Kyiv of using Western-supplied weapons in attacks that it says killed 46 civilians in Russia-controlled and Russian regions over the past week.

Maria Zakharova, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, said on August 27 that more than 400 civilians, including 21 children, had been affected by Ukrainian strikes during the week. She said 46 people were killed, including five children, while at least 364 were wounded. The figures could not be independently verified.

Zakharova's warning focused particularly on British and French support for Ukraine's use and production of long-range missiles. She said Moscow would regard foreign military personnel deployed in Ukraine as legitimate military targets if they interfered with Russian military operations or efforts to reach a settlement.

The remarks came after Russia accused Ukraine of using British-French Storm Shadow and SCALP-EG missiles in an August 26 strike on a shopping centre in Donetsk that Moscow said wounded eight people, including two children. Reuters said the details of the attack could not be independently verified.

Zakharova also criticised Britain's decision to provide Ukraine with technology for producing long-range missiles, arguing that London and Paris would not be able to distance themselves from the consequences of attacks carried out with those weapons.

Russia has separately warned that British military facilities and equipment in Ukraine and beyond its borders could become targets in response to Ukrainian strikes using British weapons. The warning marks an escalation in Moscow's rhetoric towards Britain and France over their military backing of Kyiv.

The Russian government has repeatedly accused Western countries of prolonging the war by supplying Ukraine with weapons, while European governments say military assistance is intended to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia's invasion.

The latest warnings come as the war's use of long-range missiles and drones continues to intensify. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine reported that at least 437 civilians were killed and 2,610 injured in Ukraine in July, the highest monthly number of civilian deaths recorded since May 2022. Long-range missiles and drones accounted for 38 percent of those casualties.

Zakharova also accused Kyiv and its Western allies of preparing for a deeper foreign military presence in Ukraine, referring to plans for a multinational force that could potentially monitor a future ceasefire.

She said Moscow would oppose any foreign deployment that it considered an obstacle to Russian military operations, warning that the consequences of further Western involvement could extend beyond Ukraine.

The Russian spokeswoman also cited financial and military pressures facing Ukraine, including what she described as a growing funding gap in Kyiv's defence budget, and criticised the Ukrainian government's decision not to hold national elections while martial law remains in force.

Russia's account of the civilian casualties and individual attacks cited by Zakharova has not been independently verified. Both Russia and Ukraine regularly accuse each other of attacks on civilian areas, while the UN has documented a sharp increase in civilian casualties across Ukraine this year.

Source: FSX Business News