Russia threatened retaliation after prime minister Andy Burnham said Britain would give Ukraine access to technology to produce Storm Shadow missiles domestically. In addition to the UK, France also agreed to supply missile technology to Kyiv. Maria Zakharova, Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson, said the UK and France were “playing with fire”.
This came after CIA director John Ratcliffe reportedly warned Russia against attacking any Nato country. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that US intelligence assessments had indicated Vladimir Putin could test Nato’s resolve with a limited assault on an allied country over the coming years. Meanwhile, Donald Trump said the CIA chief’s visit was made on a “very semi-routine” basis and “something may come out of it”.
The Kremlin revealed yesterday that Ratcliffe held talks with Russian intelligence officials this week but did not meet Putin. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov framed the communication between the two intelligence agencies as positive. Donald Trump has dismissed concerns about a possible Russian attack on Nato after CIA chief John Ratcliffe’s Moscow visit, saying he was “not concerned ... at all” and that “there is no problem”.
Trump called the trip “standard business” with “no message” and “nothing unusual”."Ratcliffe sees his Russian counterpart once every six months or once every year. They have a very good relationship. There was no message and there was nothing unusual," Trump told Axios.
However, US media reports say Ratcliffe warned Moscow against attacking Nato, amid intelligence that Russia could test the alliance with a limited move against a Baltic state, while also urging Russia to negotiate an end to the Ukraine war. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has dismissed reports that CIA chief John Ratcliffe warned Moscow against attacking Nato, calling them “scare-story material”. Of course, it has nothing to do with reality and nothing to do with the intentions of the Russian Federation,” he said.
It comes amid reports that CIA chief John Ratcliffe warned Moscow against attacking Nato during a secretive visit to Russia, following a US intelligence assessment that Russia could be considering a limited assault or other test of the alliance, potentially in the Baltics. Meanwhile, concerns are growing over Nato’s ability to respond, with US and Nato stocks of Patriot missile interceptors in Europe reportedly at critically low levels. Drones struck depots containing oil products and a five-storey apartment building in Sevastopol, in Russia-held Crimea, Russian news agencies quoted Moscow-installed authorities as saying on Friday.
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