Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Friday, 18 September 2026, summoned Britain’s chargé d’affaires in Moscow, Danai Dolakia, to protest what it described as London’s continued increase in shipments of drones and other weapons systems to Ukraine. The ministry said Moscow reserved the right to take any countermeasures it deemed necessary under what it described as the right to self-defence.
Moscow considers British facilities legitimate targets
It added that British military facilities in Ukraine used to launch attacks on Russian territory were, in its view, legitimate targets. Russia’s Foreign Ministry called on Britain to abandon what it described as an escalatory approach, holding London responsible for any further negative developments resulting from its continued military support for Kyiv.
The summons comes amid continuing diplomatic tensions between Moscow and London over the war in Ukraine and British military support for Kyiv. No diplomat currently holds the post of Russian ambassador to Britain following the departure of former ambassador Andrei Kelin in July 2026, while Moscow denied that the move amounted to a downgrading of diplomatic relations.
