[RBC] Moscow has intelligence that Kyiv plans to attack Russian territory with HIMARS and Storm Shadow, Shoigu claims. The use of Western weapons for these purposes will mean the participation of the United States and Britain in a military conflict.
Russia will launch immediate strikes against decision-making centers in Ukraine if the UAF attacks Russian territory - including Crimea - with HIMARS and Storm Shadow missiles, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said.
“The use of these missiles outside the zone of the special military operation will mean the full involvement of the United States and Great Britain in the conflict and will entail immediate strikes on decision-making centers on the territory of Ukraine,” Shoigu said in his opening speech at a meeting of the board of the ministry .
The head of the Ministry of Defense also said that Ukrainian troops continue to attempt an offensive in three directions: in Yuzhno-Donetsk, Zaporozhye and Donetsk.
For this, elite formations trained in NATO countries and equipped with Western weapons are involved.
The ministry reported several times on the attack on Ukrainian decision-making centers, without specifying exactly which objects were attacked and where they are located. On May 30, the Ministry of Defense announced that in one of these centers, “terrorist acts were planned on the territory of Russia under the guidance of specialists from Western intelligence services.” The Kremlin said the response to one of these Russian strikes was a drone attack on Moscow in late May.
Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev also threatened to respond in the event of the use of Western weapons against Russian territories . He admitted that centers that “are not even on the territory of Kyiv” could fall under the blows.
The British Foreign Office believes that the Armed Forces of Ukraine can attack "legitimate military targets" outside of Ukraine, as this is an element of Kiev's self-defense. The US White House said that they do not encourage Ukraine to strike at Russian territory. At the same time, the State Department notes that the Ukrainian side has the right "to independently decide how to defend its territory."