Russia warned Britain on Tuesday that if it continued to provoke Ukraine to strike targets in Russia then there would be an immediate “proportional response”.

Russia’s defence ministry cited statements from Britain’s armed forces minister James Heappey who told BBC radio that it was entirely legitimate for Ukraine to hunt targets in the depths of Russia to disrupt logistics.

“We would like to underline that London’s direct provocation of the Kiev regime into such actions, if such actions are carried out, will immediately lead to our proportional response,” Russia’s defence ministry said.

“As we have warned, the Russian Armed Forces are in round-the-clock readiness to launch retaliatory strikes with high-precision long-range weapons at decision-making centres in Kyiv.”

The defence ministry also said that if such Russian strikes were made it would not necessarily be a problem if representatives of a certain western country were located at Ukraine’s decision making centres. Britain’s Heappey said it was completely legitimate for Ukraine to strike Russian logistics lines.

2 kids killed in Russia firing

An armed man opened fire at a kindergarten in Russia’s central Ulyanovsk region on Tuesday, killing two children and a teacher, the region’s governor said.

Another teacher was wounded and is receiving medical help, governor Alexei Russkikh said. The gunman later committed suicide, Interfax news agency reported, citing a source.

“I express my deep condolences to the families and friends of the victims. This is an irreplaceable loss for all of us”, Russkikh said in a statement. Investigators have opened a criminal case over the incident, Russia’s Investigative Committee said.

Reuters