Moscow has issued a stark warning, with Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stating that Russia will target British sites if UK-supplied weapons are used by Ukraine to attack Russian territory, sparking World War 3 fears.

Zakharova stressed that British targets “on Ukraine‘s territory and beyond its borders” could be hit.

This follows an earlier warning after UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron supported Ukraine‘s right to strike inside Russia using British arms.

It comes as Ukraine‘s President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged NATO leaders to give him permission to strike Russian territories with missiles.

Ukrainian officials have for months pleaded with the country’s Western partners to supply it with further sophisticated air defence systems, especially US-made Patriots, so Kyiv’s forces can fend off Russian air assaults that have pummelled the country during the war.

Civilian areas as well as the power grid and military targets have repeatedly been hit. Speaking to the New York Times, Zelensky said: “We have our own weapons, our own drones, and we use them, but I would like to note that we do this for defence.

“And what we have always asked for President Biden, and not only President Biden but the leaders of many countries, is that we want to use the weapons for defence.

“How do we respond when they strike our cities? Their ability to strike from a distance is such because they are stationed in the villages nearest to the border of Ukraine with Russia.

“They strike from there, knowing that we will not return fire, knowing that they are using civilian populations as cover, because their weapons are located among the civilian population of the Russian Federation. But they proceed calmly, understanding that our partners do not give us permission.

“And here, when we talk about ATACMS or HIMARS, or we talk about artillery shells, or relevant missiles – Storm Shadow, Scalp, etc – we do not have permission to strike the territory of the Russian Federation, their military locations, headquarters, etc.

“It’s the same for air defence. How can we protect ourselves from constant strikes from Russian territory? They strike with missiles from Russian territory, up to 100 kilometres, away from a point in Ukraine or the border of Ukraine. How can we protect ourselves? We can either strike the missile that is entering Ukrainian territory, or strike the aircraft before launch.

“To strike the missile, we need air defence. To strike the aircraft, we need appropriate weapons. Weapons and permission.”