'This is escalation... we will react accordingly': Putin's foreign minister's chilling warning to West after Ukraine fired US-made missiles into Russia - as Starmer hints Kyiv CAN use Brit rockets and ex-Kremlin PM says 'that means WWIII'

Russia has signalled it volition retaliate with full-scale atomic warfare aft Ukraine launched US-made missiles implicit the borderline connected Tuesday. 

Vladimir Putin's overseas minister Sergei Lavrov chillingly warned that Moscow would 'react accordingly' arsenic helium described the onslaught arsenic a awesome Kyiv 'wanted to escalate'. 

The terrifying sabre rattling was confirmed by the Russian President's adjacent state Dmitry Medvedev. Posting connected X, the Deputy Chair of Russia's information assembly said it meant 'World War III'.

In a melodramatic escalation connected the 1,000th time of the conflict, Kyiv launched six 'ATACM' missiles from an undisclosed determination implicit the borderline into Russian territory. 

The strikes triggered a fiery detonation astatine a depot successful Karachev, believed to beryllium storing ammunition supplied by North Korea, astir 75 miles from the Ukrainian border. 

At the aforesaid time, Putin provocatively signed disconnected changes to the country's laws connected nuclear weapons to marque it easier for them to beryllium deployed against Ukraine successful retaliation.

The amendments let Russia to motorboat a atomic onslaught successful effect to a accepted weapons onslaught – specified arsenic 1 by long-range missiles.

It comes arsenic Sir Keir Starmer offered his biggest hint yet that No.10 would authorise Ukraine to fire UK Storm Shadow missiles into Russia.

He said the G20 acme successful Brazil: 'I've been doubling down successful my wide connection that we request to guarantee Ukraine has what is needed for arsenic agelong arsenic needed to triumph this warfare against Putin.

'I americium not going to spell into operational details. You would not expect maine to. The lone victor successful that would beryllium Putin and it would undermine Ukraine.' 

He added that the rhetoric presently coming from Russia was 'irresponsible' and would not deter the UK's reosponse.  

 Zelenksy's plea to usage UK Storm Shadow missiles connected targets successful Russia has truthful acold been rebuffed by Downing Street for fears of escalating the conflict. 

A elder defence root said the UK prefers to 'confirm by use', for example, erstwhile a rocket strikes.

Meanwhile, determination is increasing interest astir Europe's quality to respond to Russia's increased use of hybrid warfare and sabotage attacks. 

A erstwhile defence official, has warned that Europe is 'totally unprepared' for Russia's escalating response, The Guardian has reported. 

The senior European defence official, who precocious near their position, said the artifact lacked the resources to antagonistic Russian sabotage attacks. 

Such attacks are expected to summation successful frequence aft Biden approved the usage of ATACMS earlier this week. 

Earlier this year, US and German quality services reportedly uncovered a Russian crippled to assassinate respective defence manufacture executives crossed Europe.

US information sources person indicated that the determination to let ATACMS strikes was a nonstop effect to Russia recruiting thousands of North Korean troops.

Around 10,000 soldiers provided by Pyongyang are expected to instrumentality portion successful a Russian bid to liberate the state of Kursk, parts of which person been seized by Ukrainian forces.

Yesterday, Mr Zelensky raised the imaginable that the fig of North Korean troops could adjacent swell to 100,000.

Neither the US nor Ukraine has confirmed the usage of the missiles, with Zelenksy simply saying his state has 'long-range capabilities'. 

But Russian quality agencies explicitly referred to ATACMs successful their state-supported reports.

Following the attack, Moscow's exigency ministry announced it had  begun mass-producing mobile weaponry shelters that tin support against shockwaves and radiation from a atomic blast.

The caller 'KUB-M' shelters volition connection extortion for 54 radical for up to 2 days against earthy and man-made hazards, Moscow's exigency ministry has said.

'The mobile structure is simply a multifunctional operation that provides extortion for radical from assorted threats, including earthy disasters and man-made accidents,' its probe institute explained, calling it 'an important measurement towards improving the information of citizens'. 

 They tin easy beryllium transported connected a motortruck and connected to h2o supplies, and tin besides beryllium deployed successful Russia's immense bluish permafrost, it added. 

In anticipation of Ukraine receiving support to usage ATACMS, Russia's aerial unit is said to person redeployed galore of its combatant jets and strategical bomber craft distant from the airbases successful scope of the missiles to sites further east.

But determination are inactive much than 200 subject facilities that could beryllium battered by the US-manufactured munitions from positions on the 800-mile-long frontline.

Among the archetypal apt targets for Ukrainian strikes could beryllium the Kuzminka Military Base, a captious staging country for Putin's forces betwixt the Russian metropolis of Rostov-on-Don and the Ukrainian borderline which acts arsenic a hub for conveyance storage, unit assembly and operational planning.

Russia's 381st artillery regiment is besides located adjacent to the Kuzminka basal on with respective logistics centres.

Meanwhile, successful Kursk, Kyiv's troops could question to people the office of Russia's 448th Missile Brigade oregon determination assembly points utilized to stitchery troops preparing to propulsion backmost the Ukrainian incursion successful the region.

Targeting these sites could cripple Russian logistics, command, and combat support, importantly reducing Moscow's violative capabilities successful occupied Ukrainian territory​ and harming efforts to retake territory successful Kursk.

However, the wide proviso of ATACMS missiles to Ukraine is short, truthful US officials and analysts person questioned whether allowing Ukraine to usage the weapons systems is truly worthy it fixed the imaginable consequences that could ensue.

Jennifer Kavanagh, manager of subject investigation astatine the Defense Priorities deliberation tank, was captious of the Biden administration's determination to o.k. the usage of ATACMS connected targets successful Russia.

'Expanding Ukraine's quality to motorboat violative strikes with Western weapons wrong Russia volition not change the trajectory of the warfare oregon assistance Kyiv summation an vantage against a amended equipped and much resilient adversary.

'Any escalation could reverberate connected Ukraine itself. With the Biden medication connected its mode retired and the incoming Trump medication indicating an volition to extremity the war, Putin has small inducement to enactment with restraint successful his retaliation toward Kyiv.'

But proponents of the argumentation accidental that adjacent a fewer strikes deeper wrong Russia would unit its subject to alteration deployments and expend much of its resources.

George Barros, person of the Russia squad and GEOINT squad astatine ISW that compiled the database of targets, sought to item the mode successful which ATACMS could interaction Putin's troops and campaigned for the Biden medication to let strikes beyond Kursk arsenic a result.

'Reminder that determination are hundreds of valid, legal, legitimate, and operationally consequential subject targets successful scope of Ukrainian ATACMS,' helium wrote.

'The Biden Administration's displacement to let ATACMS usage successful Russia is simply a bully thing.'

Matthew Savill, the manager of subject sciences astatine the Royal United Services Institute, said of Ukraine's ATACMS attacks: 'Many of the champion targets – helicopters and glide-bomb equipped craft attacking Ukrainian cities and troops successful the northbound oregon successful Kursk person mostly moved to airbases extracurricular the scope of ATACMS.

'This inactive leaves plentifulness of opportunities to onslaught subject office and ammunition oregon proviso locations supporting Russian and North Korean troops, but this would beryllium a reduced interaction from erstwhile the Ukrainians archetypal requested these weapons.'

It remains to beryllium seen whether Britain and France volition travel America's pb by allowing Kyiv's troops to onslaught Russian targets with Storm Shadow and SCALP long-range missiles - though it is expected the restrictions volition soon beryllium relaxed.