UK prime minister responds to Russian ambassador: We are not at war with Russia

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said that the UK is not at war with Russia, but will support Ukraine to prevent Moscow from winning the war it has unleashed.

When asked  in an interview with the BBC whether the UK was "at war" with Russia in view of its recent steps to support Ukraine, the UK prime minister said no.

"No, we’re not at war, but Ukraine certainly is, because Ukraine has been invaded by Russia, and that war has now been going on for just over 1,000 days," Starmer reiterated.

"That’s 1,000 days of aggression from Russia and 1,000 days of sacrifice for Ukraine, and that is why we’ve said consistently that we stand by Ukraine. We cannot allow Putin to win this war," he added.

On 21 November, Andrei Kelin, Russia's Ambassador to the United Kingdom, accused London of supposedly "directly participating" in the war in Ukraine unleashed by the Kremlin, although he did not provide any evidence to support his claim.

Kelin's claims come amid reports that Ukraine has used UK-supplied Storm Shadow cruise missiles to strike Russian territory for the first time.