IN RIO DE JANEIRO – Sir Keir Starmer has warned the UK will not bow to Russia’s threats of starting a nuclear war over its support for Ukraine.
President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday dramatically raised the stakes over its invasion of Ukraine by threatening a nuclear retaliation over the West’s decision to allow Kyiv to use long-range missiles on Russian soil.
Ukrainian forces used US-built ATACMS long-range missiles for the first time in Russia on Tuesday, prompting Putin to sign a decree allowing Russia to fire nuclear weapons in response to a massive conventional attack on its soil, including by drones.
Asked whether Britons should start preparing for a possible nuclear attack, the Prime Minister condemned Putin’s escalation of tensions.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference at the G20 in Brazil, Starmer said: “This is irresponsible rhetoric coming from Russia and that is not going to deter our support for Ukraine.
“We’re now on day 1,000 of a conflict – that’s 1,000 days of Russian aggression, 1,000 days of sacrifices in Ukraine.”
And he added: “We have stood with Ukraine from the start. I’ve been doubling down in my clear message that we need to ensure Ukraine has what is needed for as long as needed to win this war against Putin.”
In his address from Rio de Janeiro, the Prime Minister called on Putin to end the war, highlighting the Russian leader’s decision to skip the G20 summit for a third year in a row, describing him as “the author of his own exile”.
Speaking earlier in the day, Starmer warned that Brits could pay a “very high cost” if the West backs down in the face of growing Russian aggression despite the threat of a nuclear retaliation.
Asked whether he was comfortable putting the UK at potential risk with his continued support for Ukraine, the Prime Minister told Sky News that the conflict was “impacting not just Ukraine – it’s impacting the rest of the world, including the UK”.
Pressed on Russia’s threat of launching a “nuclear war”, Starmer said there was a “cost” to the UK in pulling support for Kyiv.
“My message is that we need to ensure that Ukraine is put in the best possible position,” he said. “There is a very high cost if Russian aggression is seen to pay off. A cost that we will all pay, because this is not just about sovereignty in Ukraine, it’s about our freedoms. It’s about our way of life and it impacts everybody across the United Kingdom.”
Defence minister Luke Pollard said Putin’s threats were designed to “put us off from our support for Ukraine”.
“They’re designed to weaken our resolve, and we are showing strong resolve in return,” he added.
US President Joe Biden gave the green light for the American-built missiles to be used by Ukraine, but is understood to be opposed to allowing Ukrainian forces to use UK Storm Shadows or French Scalp missiles in Russian territory.
But in a hint that a shift in policy could be imminent, Starmer said on Tuesday that Ukraine will have “what it needs” in response to increasing Russian aggression.
Asked whether the UK could follow suit by allowing the use of British made Storm Shadow missiles or agree to the further use of American made missiles, Starmer told the BBC: “My position has always been that Ukraine must have what it needs for as long as it needs. Putin must not win this war.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov issued further warnings from the sidelines of the G20 summit, telling reporters: “If the long-range missiles are used from the territory of Ukraine against the Russian territory, it will mean that they are controlled by American military experts and we will view that as a qualitatively new phase of the Western war against Russia and respond accordingly.”
A senior source close to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky told i: “Whenever he feels vulnerable, he threatens to use nuclear weapons. He and the rest of the world knows it’s highly unlikely that he will, in fact, deploy the nuclear option. Like a rat backed into a corner Putin will attempt to bite back, but this threat has no teeth.”
And a Western diplomatic source told i: “Russia retains tactical nukes because it has learned that it can use them as a tool of coercion. The Kremlin believes it can frighten the West by saying it has a much higher threshold for pain in a conflict, and that extends to a willingness to use a weapon that threatens human existence.”
