Ambassador Kelin pointed to Britain's direct involvement in the Ukrainian conflict

The Russian ambassador to London, Andrey Kelin, has said that the UK is directly involved in the Ukrainian conflict. He said this in an interview with Sky News TV channel on November 21, commenting on the launch of British long-range Storm Shadow missiles on Russian territory.

"Of course, Britain, the United Kingdom is now directly involved in <this conflict>, because these launches cannot happen without NATO personnel, British personnel in NATO," the diplomat said.

The politician also recommended that the West subject Russia's updated doctrine on nuclear deterrence to a thorough analysis in order for them to correctly assess the risks of escalation.

"We expect [the doctrine] to be thoroughly analyzed by Western experts and the military in order to understand the risks of escalation and to avoid underestimating them," Kelin said.

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Earlier in the day, it was reported that Russian air defenses shot down two Storm Shadow missiles.

Before that, on November 17, The New York Times reported that US President Joe Biden had authorized Ukraine to use US ATACMS missiles to strike Russia. The Le Figaro newspaper said that the French and British authorities had made the same decision on strikes with SCALP and Storm Shadow missiles, but later removed this information.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stressed on November 18 that Kiev's possible use of Western long-range missiles would receive an "adequate and tangible" response.

Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine amid Russia's special operation to protect Donbass, which began on February 24, 2022. The decision to conduct it was taken by the Russian president because of the aggravation of the situation in the region due to the increased shelling by Ukrainian troops.