Minister backs Ukraine carrying out Russia strikes with British weapons

Heappey said it was ‘not necessarily a problem’ if British-donated weapons were used to hit sites on Russian soil. Photograph: Michael Mayhew/Allstar

The UK backs Ukrainian troops carrying out strikes in Russian territory, the armed forces minister has said, calling it “not necessarily a problem” if Ukraine uses weapons donated by Britain.

James Heappey said the UK believed it was “completely legitimate” for Ukraine to identify targets in Russia in order to disrupt attacks on Ukraine.