Putin to 'issue WW3 ultimatum to Britain' as Storm Shadow missiles 'blow up key plant'

Sir Keir Starmer’s successor as British Prime Minister will face an “ultimatum” from Vladimir Putin to either halt military aid to Ukraine or face missile strikes on London, it has been suggested. The prediction was made by Margarita Simonyan, the Kremlin dictator’s RT television propaganda chief, after British Storm Shadow missiles struck Russia’s biggest semiconductor assembly factory.

Ukraine used the missiles to break through Putin’s air defences, attacking the production centre for components of Russia’s Iskander-K and Kh-101 missiles, as well as its Panzer armoured vehicles. The Kremlin is also outraged that Britain has built and test-fired three new long-range missile prototypes intended for Ukraine amid reports of successful live-fire trials at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) Hebrides range in Scotland.

Ms Simonyan said: “When London blithely declares that we’re currently preparing long-range missiles to strike Mosow – well, listen, here are some interesting spires there. It would be interesting to see those spires go up in flames.”

“That would probably be quite a picturesque and beautiful sight,” she added. “I think it will end with us being forced to issue them with an ultimatum, acknowledging the status quo, which is that they are participants in this war.

“They are at war with us, while we are not at war with them.”

Putin was waiting for his moment to broach the set of terms as Britain prepares for a change of Prime Minister, with Andy Burnham looking to replace Keir Starmer, she said.

“I urge you not to be upset that this has [not] been done so far,” she told Russian pro-war fanatics who demand immediate military action against Britain, which has been blamed for Ukraine’s military successes.

“We shouldn’t think of ourselves as all being smarter than Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin,” Ms Simonyan said. “That’s hardly likely.”

The missile strike on the Voronizhsk Semiconductor Device Assembly Plant came amid devastating strikes from Ukraine, showing its growing confidence in the war.

Several suspected Storm Shadows were shot down but the Russians failed to prevent critical damage to the blitzed plants.

A key Russian satellite comunications hub north of Moscow was also struck in a recent Ukrainian drone attack, with smoke reportedly pouring from the key facility for Russia’s international telephone lines and government communications.

The attacks could jeopardise Russia’s bid to meet up its own version of Elon Musk’s Starlink, providing internet from space, which is being fast-tracked for use in the war.

Moscow is continuing to lash out in response, with overnight strikes targeting a Turkish dry cargo ship in Ukrainian waters in the Black Sea.

An Egyptian ship cook, 58, was killed and the crew, mainly from Turkey and India, were rescued from the burning vessel by the Ukrainian army.

Ukrainian region Odesa was also hit for the second day running in strikes that forced the weekend scrambling of NATO warplanes in neighbouring Romania.