Defense Secretary of Britain, Ben Wallace has confirmed that the British government is supplying Ukraine with long-range missiles it requested for its fight against invading Russian forces.
Wallace informed lawmakers in the House of Commons, that the country is supplying Storm Shadow missiles, a conventionally armed deep-strike weapon with a range of more than 250 kilometers (150 miles). Storm Shadow missiles contrasts the US-supplied Himars missiles used by Ukraine, which only have a range of around 80 km (50 miles).
They are fired from aircraft, so the longer range means Ukrainian pilots will be able to stay farther from the frontlines. Once launched, the Storm Shadow drops to low altitude to elude detection by enemy radar, before latching onto its target with an infra-red seeker.
The decision follows repeated requests from Ukraine for more weapons from the West. The weapons will give Ukraine the “best chance” of defending itself, Wallace said.
Wallace noted that the missiles would “allow Ukraine to push back Russian forces based on Ukrainian sovereign territory”. He disclosed that the UK took the decision after Russia “continued down a dark path” of targeting civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
The UK Defense Secretary divulged that he wrote to his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu in December to caution that further attacks could result in the UK donating more capable weapons. He said the missiles were “going into” or already in Ukrainian hands, and described the move as “calibrated and proportionate to Russia’s escalations.”
“None of this would have been necessary had Russia not invaded,” Wallace added. He said the missiles would be compatible with Ukraine’s existing, Soviet-era planes and praised the technicians and scientists who made that possible.
However, Wallace warned that the range of the British-supplied Storm Shadows was “not in the same league” as Russia’s own missile systems.
Ben Hodges, a former U.S. Army Europe Commanding General, lauded UK’s decision, tweeting, “Well done UK!”
“This will give Ukraine capability to make Crimea untenable for Russian forces” and require Russia to reevaluate the positioning of its Black Sea fleet, Hodges added.
Moscow To Take “Appropriate” Response
Meanwhile, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has stated that Moscow would take an “appropriate” military response to any British-supplied Storm Shadow weapons used by Ukrainian forces.
The Storm Shadow missile has been operated by both British and French air forces and has been used previously in the Gulf, Iraq and Libya.
The British-supplied missiles can only be fired by aircraft, but French missiles can be fired from ships and submarines.
Earlier this year, Oleksii Reznikov, the Defense Minister of Ukraine vowed that longer-range missiles would not be used to attack targets within Russia itself. “If we could strike at a distance of up to 300 kilometres, the Russian army wouldn’t be able to provide defense and will have to lose,” he disclosed at an EU meeting.
“Ukraine is ready to provide any guarantees that your weapons will not be involved in attacks on the Russian territory,” Reznikov said.
In February, UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak announced that he was prepared to send long-range missiles to Ukraine, and the British government opened a bidding process for their procurement.
“Together we must help Ukraine to shield its cities from Russian bombs and Iranian drones,” Sunak said then. “That’s why the United Kingdom will be the first country to give Ukraine longer-range weapons,” he added.
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