On Aug. 21, Kit Klarenberg reviewed an Aug. 18 report from The Sunday Times, which itself stemmed from the sudden appearance of British-made Challenger tanks participating in the Kiev regime’s invasion of Kursk. According to Klarenberg, several British media outlets were explicitly briefed by British military sources that “it marked the first time in history London’s tanks ‘have been used in combat on Russian territory.’ Disquietingly, The Times now reveals this was a deliberate propaganda and lobbying strategy, spearheaded by Prime Minister Keir Starmer.”
“When footage of British Challenger 2 battle tanks being used by the Ukrainian army for its counterinvasion of Russia emerged on Tuesday [August 13], Downing Street and the Ministry of Defence were ready,” The Sunday Times report began. “For the previous 48 hours, officials and political aides working for Sir Keir Starmer and John Healey, the defense secretary, had been in talks about how far to go to confirm growing British involvement in the incursion towards Kursk. The stakes were high. Unseen by the world, British equipment, including drones, have played a central role in Ukraine’s new offensive and British personnel have been closely advising the Ukrainian military for two years, on a scale matched by no other country.”
Later, The Sunday Times adds: “The decision Starmer and Healey took last week was not a policy shift but a change of tone to be more open about Britain’s role in a bid to persuade key allies to do more to help—and convince the public that Britain’s security and economic prosperity is affected by events on the fields of Ukraine. A senior Whitehall source said: ‘There won’t be shying away from the idea of British weapons being used in Russia as part of Ukraine’s defense. We don’t want any uncertainty or nervousness over Britain’s support at this critical moment and a half-hearted or uncertain response might have indicated that. We should be proud that we’ve donated kit that is helping Ukraine in their defense.’”
The Sunday Times report was part of a calculated campaign to encourage other elements of the NATO empire, particularly the U.S., to deepen and escalate their involvement in the war against Russia. Next month, U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey will be attending a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Support Group (Sept. 6) where “Britain will press European allies to send more equipment and give Kyiv more leeway to use them in Russia. Healey spoke last week to Lloyd Austin, the U.S. defense secretary, and has been wooing Boris Pistorius, his German opposite number.” Even though the UDSG began as an initiative of Lloyd Austin, the British have played an outsized role in it, using it to escalate, in particular, Ukraine’s drone operations.
According to Klarenberg, this campaign hasn’t yet generated the desired results. “In repeated press conferences and media briefings since August 6th, U.S. officials have firmly distanced themselves from the Kursk incursion, denying any involvement in its planning or execution, or even being forewarned by Kiev,” he writes. Tied up in this is the matter of the use of the Storm Shadow/SCALP missile in Russia, which the U.S. also apparently has a say in, besides the French.