Minister backs Ukraine to hit targets IN Russia with UK weapons

Minister backs Ukraine’s right to attack targets INSIDE Russia with British weapons after series of mysterious explosions across border – and says Kremlin’s Nato nuke threats are ‘noise’

• James Heappey said logistics sites on Russian soil were legitimate targets 
• Armed Forces Minister said the UK was happy for weapons it supplied to be used
• He also hit back at nuclear sabre-rattling by Kremlin henchman Sergei Lavrov 
• Russia’s top diplomat warned that Nato is now fighting a proxy war in Ukraine 

Britain backed Ukraine to use weapons it supplied to attack targets inside Russia today – saying Kyiv has ‘every chance of kicking Vladimir Putin’s forces out of the country. 

Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said logistics sites on Russian soil were legitimate targets, amid a series of explosions at oil depots in recent days.

And he said the UK was happy for weapons it has supplied to be used. 

Mr Heappey also hit back at nuclear sabre-rattling by Kremlin henchman Sergei Lavrov, saying his comments were just ‘noise’.

Russia’s top diplomat has warned that Nato is now fighting a proxy war in Ukraine and there is a ‘very serious’ risk the conflict could turn nuclear.

Mr Heapey told Times Radio: ‘It is completely legitimate for Ukraine to be targeting in Russia’s depth in order to disrupt the logistics that if they weren’t disrupted would directly contribute to death and carnage on Ukrainian soil.

‘There are lots of countries around the world that operate kit that they have imported from other countries; when those bits of kit are used we tend not to blame the country that manufactured it, you blame the country that fired it.’ 

Armed forces minister James Heappey said logistics sites on Russian soil were legitimate targets, amid a series of explosions at oil depots in recent days,

The UK is supplying arms including the Starstreak missile system and Stormer vehicles to carry it, to Ukraine

Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, has warned that Nato is now fighting a proxy-war against Moscow and there is a ‘very significant’ risk the conflict will turn nuclear

Lavrov accused the West of risking a third world war in Ukraine by supplying weapons with the hope of ‘wearing out the Russian army’ – a goal he called ‘an illusion’

The comments mark a further strengthening of the UK’s position, as allies shift from caution against antagonising President Vladimir Putin to supplying more and more lethal aid.

Lavrov accused Nato forces of ‘pouring oil on the fire’ by providing weapons, as he warned against provoking ‘World War Three’.

Claiming Nato its allies were attempting to bully Russia on the international stage, Lavrov warned that tensions between east and west are now worse than during the Cuban missile crisis at the height of the Cold War.

Asked directly about the possibility of a nuclear war, he replied: ‘The risks are very significant. I do not want the danger to be artificially inflated [but] it is serious, real. It cannot be underestimated.’

But Mr Heappey told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the chances of nuclear warfare are ‘vanishingly small’.

He told Mr Lavrov to ‘reflect’ on the reason there is a war in Ukraine being that Russia invaded, telling Sky News: ‘All of this noise from Moscow about somehow their attack on Ukraine being a response to Nato aggression is just utter, utter nonsense.’

Mr Heappey said there is ‘every chance’ that the Ukrainians will see off the Russians in the invasion, arguing that Moscow’s victory in the east of Ukraine is not inevitable.

‘We’ll see a conflict between two forces that are much more evenly balanced, where the Ukrainians have the advantage of defensive positions that have been dug in and prepared over the last eight years, and that’s going to make it an extraordinarily difficult nut for the Russians to crack,’ he told Sky.

‘And with all the support that the Ukrainians are getting from around the world, there’s every chance the Ukrainians can see them off.’

Germany will supply 50 Gepard anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine, the defence minister is set to announce today- after weeks of dithering on the issue

Olaf Scholz (left) had been accused of undermining European security by refusing to supply Ukraine, with minister Christine Lambrecht (right) due to announce a change of policy today

Germany is expected to finally authorise the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine today after weeks of dithering that has tarnished its reputation on the world stage and led to questions about its commitment to European security.

Defense minister Christine Lambrecht is expected announce the delivery of around 50 Gepard anti-aircraft vehicles to Ukraine during a meeting of more than 40 nations that will take place at Ramstein air base later today.

Germany’s defence industry has been offering to sell the Gepard vehicles to Ukraine since February, but had been blocked from doing so by Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government which led to outcry both inside and outside the country.

The Gepard was first developed in the 1960s and for decades formed the backbone of Germany’s air defence forces, having undergone several upgrades to its radar and targeting systems.

Built on the chassis of a Leopard 1 tank, Gepards are equipped with two 35mm cannons which were designed to take out incoming aircraft and cruise missiles, but can also be used against drones and – if necessary – against ground targets.

Later models were equipped with Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, but it is unclear if these are fitting to the ones that will be supplied to Ukraine.

The Bundeswehr began phasing out the vehicle in 2010 in favour of the more modern Wiesel 2 Ozelot that is equipped with missiles as standard.

Any Gepard vehicles supplied to Ukraine are expected to come from stockpiles that have sat un-used since the Ozelot came into service. 

German arms company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann first said back in February that it had 50 Gepards that could ‘quickly’ be supplied to Ukraine if the federal government gave it permission to do so.

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