The United Kingdom does not allow Ukraine to fire long-range Storm Shadow missiles at targets in Russia.
The Telegraph newspaper writes about this, citing sources in the British Ministry of Defense, Babel reports.
Officially, Britain announced the transfer of Storm Shadow missiles in May 2023. However, the country allowed them to hit targets only in Crimea and other occupied territories of Ukraine. In early May 2024, former British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said that Ukraine had the right to use the weapons provided by London to strike targets in Russia, and it was up to Kyiv to decide whether to do so.
On July 10, the new British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, confirmed that Ukraine could use British missiles to strike Russia. He emphasized that it is up to Ukraine to decide how it will use the Storm Shadow missiles provided by the UK.
This morning, I learned about the authorization to use Storm Shadow missiles against military targets in Russia. We had the opportunity to discuss the practical implementation of this decision, – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after meeting with Starmer.
However, The Telegraph notes that Britain’s policy “has not changed” and, despite Starmer’s statements, the country does not allow Ukraine to fire Storm Shadow missiles at Russia. British officials fear that such a move would escalate the war and could draw the UK into a conflict with Russia.
The newspaper’s senior source in the British Ministry of Defense claims that “the situation is more subtle”, than Zelenskyy suggested. Authorizing long-range missile strikes against targets in Russia would require the approval of three countries, one of which is the UK. The other country, which produces Storm Shadow along with the UK, is France.
Answering journalists’ questions about whether Ukraine would fire Storm Shadow missiles at Russia, the Telegraph’s source emphasized that “it won’t happen”. According to the sources, Zelenskyy will have to “look for guarantees elsewhere” before Ukraine can launch Storm Shadow missiles at Russia.
