World War 3 fears erupt after Kremlin warns it will strike British targets if UK weapons are used to hit Russian territory

It comes after Foreign Secretary David Cameron said Ukraine had a right to use weapons provided by London to hit Russian targets.

His comments enraged Vladimir Putin and were cited as one of the reasons why it has opted to hold exercises this month to simulate the launch of tactical nuclear missiles.

At the time, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "The Kremlin views Cameron’s statements about Kyiv’s right to use British weapons to strike the Russian Federation as a direct escalation."

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova added: "Russia is responding to that and will continue to respond."

Zakharova said on Thursday that the European Union will feel the "full measure" of Russian retaliation over its plan to use income from frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine.

The Belgian government said on Tuesday that EU countries have formally approved a plan to use windfall profits from Russian central bank assets frozen in the EU for Ukraine's defence.

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Russia hit back - saying such action is illegal.

"We are talking about another attempt to legitimise theft at state level," Zakharova told reporters.

According to US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the assets could be a potential source of support for Ukraine beyond 2025.

Russia has threatened retaliation for a number of weeks.

However, Moscow's options are slim when it comes to sovereign assets.

Russia's ability to mete out like-for-like retaliation, if Western leaders seize its frozen assets, has been eroded by dwindling foreign investment.

But, it may go after private investors' cash instead.