MOSCOW, June 18 — RIA Novosti. European citizens are under threat because of their leaders’ policy towards Russia, said Glen Diesen, a professor at the University of Southeastern Norway, commenting on Britain’s testing of a new long-range weapon for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

“The UK and NATO have long crossed the line between a proxy war and a direct conflict. By their actions, our leaders have deprived Russia of a choice, making retaliatory measures inevitable and turning all of us into targets,” he wrote on the social network X.

The Telegraph newspaper on Saturday, citing sources in the Ministry of Defense, reported that the UK has already tested a new long-range weapon, which it intends to supply to Ukraine. It is noted that the experimental weapon will be equipped with a warhead weighing 250 kilograms and will be capable of reaching speeds of almost 600 kilometers per hour. Three British companies received a tender for the development of weapons last year: MBDA, which already produces Storm Shadow missiles, MGI Engineering and Rotron Aerospace.

In January 2026, the British military announced that the British had developed new high-precision Nightfall ballistic missiles with a range of more than 500 kilometers for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that NATO countries are now discussing not just the possible use of Western long-range weapons by Kiev, in fact, they are deciding whether to get directly involved in the Ukrainian conflict. The direct participation of Western countries in the Ukrainian conflict will change its essence, Moscow will be forced to make decisions based on the threats thus created for it, he added. Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that Putin’s statement about the consequences of Western weapons strikes deep into Russia is extremely clear and unambiguous, there is no doubt that it has reached its addressees.

https://news.mail.ru/politics/71347280/