The Kremlin has said that British “public officials” are “legitimate military targets” for their support in supplying weapons and training to Ukraine.
Dmitry Medvedev deputy chairman of the Russian security council has hit out at London for their “undeclared war” against Russia.
On Tuesday Russia accused Ukraine for attacking Moscow in a drone attack, and the British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said that Kyiv have the right to “project force beyond its borders” into Russia.
The UK’s Foreign Secretary Cleverly has stated that Ukraine “has the legitimate right to … project force beyond its borders to undermine Russia’s ability to project force into Ukraine itself.” According to him, legitimate military targets beyond Ukraine’s border are part of its…
— Dmitry Medvedev (@MedvedevRussiaE) May 31, 2023
Cleverly said, “I don’t have details, and I am not going to speculate about the nature of the drone attacks in Moscow. So what I’m about to say are more general points, rather than on that specific incident.
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“Ukraine does have the legitimate right to defend itself. It has the legitimate right to do so within its own borders, of course, but it does also have the right to project force beyond its borders to undermine Russia’s ability to project force into Ukraine itself.
“So legitimate military targets beyond its own border are part of Ukraine’s self-defence. And we should recognise that.
“That is not to say that I have any particular assessment over the attacks in Moscow, but more broadly military targets beyond its own border are internationally recognised as being legitimate as part of a nation’s self-defence.”
Medvedev said in response to Cleverly’s comment, “The goofy officials of the UK, our eternal enemy, should remember that within the framework of the universally accepted international law which regulates modern warfare, including the Hague and Geneva Conventions with their additional protocols, their state can also be qualified as being at war.
“Today, the UK acts as Ukraine’s ally, providing it with military aid in the form of equipment and specialists, i.e., de facto, is leading an undeclared war against Russia.
“That being the case, any of its public officials (either military, or civil, who facilitate the war) can be considered as a legitimate military target.”
