Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday that Ukraine was planning to attack Moscow-controlled Crimea with HIMARS long-range artillery systems and Storm Shadow missiles, and warned that Russia would retaliate, TASS reported.

Such strikes, which Russia considers to be outside the area of what it calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine, would also mean full-scale involvement of the United States and Britain in the conflict, TASS quoted Shoigu as saying.