Moscow threatens to ‘soften’ Ukraine capital with high-tech weapons

Ukraine last night ramped up pressure on the West to allow it to fire missiles deep into Russian territory – as Moscow threatened to “melt” Kyiv with its own high tech weapons.

Keir Starmer flew home from meeting Joe Biden in Washington after crunch talks ended without any change in the US President’s position on the use of Anglo-French Storm Shadow cruise missiles. Britain and France have already supplied the missiles to Ukraine, but they are only authorised for use within the Ukrainian border.

The UK and France have indicated they would be prepared to lift the restriction – but the US, whose approval is needed because they include parts made in America, has yet to publicly budge. Meanwhile, Moscow ratcheted up their rhetoric even further, with former President Dmitry Medvedev boasting Russia had the capacity to destroy Ukraine’s capital with non-nuclear weapons.

Mr Medvedev, now Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said Moscow already had formal grounds to use nuclear weapons since Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, but could instead use some of its new weapon technologies to reduce Kyiv to “a giant melted spot” when its patience runs out.

Meanwhile, Armed Forces minister Luke Pollard warned Scotland ’s coastline has become a new front on the West’s conflict with Russia. The Minister warned Putin is likely operating fleets of unmanned submarines designed to sabotage sub-sea internet cables which could cripple the UK.

“If you are in a conflict with an aggressor who can attack those cables, you could sustain quite significant economic damage,” he told the Sunday Mail. “That’s the changing face of warfare that we need to think about – underwater warfare with autonomous systems in particular.”

He added: “This is not an abstract threat, we are very dependent on this infrastructure for our daily lives – the NHS is dependent on it, the financial markets are dependent on data flowing, the list goes on.”

Meetings between Starmer and Biden at the White House are understood to have been dominated by the conflict in Ukraine. But neither President Biden or Secretary of State Anthony Blinken have indicated any imminent change in policy following the summit.

“This wasn’t about a particular decision ,” Mr Starmer told reporters after the meeting. “We’ll obviously pick up again [at the UN General Assembly] in just a few days time with a wider group of individuals.”

Mr Starmer and President Biden will meet again at the UN gathering in New York next weekend. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is also expected to attend.

A Downing Street spokesperson said: “The leaders both welcomed the opportunity for an in-depth discussion on a wide range of foreign policy issues, including the situation in Ukraine, the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific. With both conflicts continuing, they agreed that now was the time for a more detailed discussion focused on immediate co-operation as well as long-term strategy over the next few months.

“On Ukraine, they heard from the Foreign Secretary and the U.S. Secretary of State about their recent visit to Kyiv. They updated on the courageous campaign of the Ukrainians to defend their territory and deter Russian aggression. They strongly condemned the transfer of lethal weapons to Russia from North Korea and Iran. Both leaders agreed on the importance of sustaining support to Ukraine in all aspects, including military, economic and diplomatic, for as long as it takes for Russia to withdraw.”

Former defence secretary Sir Ben Wallace said the wrangling over Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles in Russia was just benefiting Vladimir Putin. The Tory former minister said: “I’m just disappointed that it’s yet again, another tug of war around another capability.”

Russian and Ukrainian officials announced a prisoner swap on Saturday, brokered by the United Arab Emirates. Some 206 prisoners released by both sides, including Russians captured in Ukraine’s incursion in the Kursk region. It’s the eighth prisoner swap since the start of this year, bringing the total number of POWs released to 1994.

President Zelensky said: “Our people are home.”

Mr Starmer and President Biden exchanged modest gifts during their meetings this week.

The Prime Minister is understood to have given the US President a Fortnum and Mason hamper and some 10 Downing Street mugs. In return, President Biden gave Mr Starmer a class bowl with gold wrapping bearing the Presidential seal.