UK May Be Seeking Allies’ Approval to Let Ukraine Use Storm Shadows in Russia

While the UK government is allowing Ukraine to use British weapons for its Russia incursion, it’s so far drawn the line at its long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles. However, a report by The Times suggests that British officials are working to persuade allies that it’s a good idea.

“Behind the scenes, ministers are trying to persuade allies to approve Ukraine’s use of Storm Shadow cruise missiles inside Russia,” The Times writes.

Due to escalation risks, governments have so far refrained from allowing Ukraine to use long-range weapons.

Previously, the UK allowed Kyiv to target objectives in Russia using any weapon provided, except for long-range missiles. This decision was related to the fact that the missiles are a joint development of the UK and France, which did not approve strikes on Russian territory.

The new British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, said that the missiles provided to Kyiv must be used in accordance with international humanitarian law. Later, The Daily Telegraph reported that London did not allow Kyiv to use Storm Shadow during the attack on the Kursk region.

Recently, The Telegraph reported that while Russian forces are launching counterattacks on the Kursk front line, Zelensky has once again appealed to Western allies to allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles for strikes deep into Russian territory.

Last month, during his visit to the UK, Zelensky asked Starmer to lift restrictions on using ammunition with a range of about 250 kilometers, as Kyiv plans to strike airfields and logistics hubs far behind the front line, which Moscow uses to bolster its positions around Kursk.

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Kyiv’s plans to draft an additional 160,000 troops by February are underway, though experts doubt they will hit the target, expecting closer to 100,000.

Ukraine last week sent troops into Russia’s border region of Kursk, in the largest cross-border operation by Kyiv since Moscow launched its offensive more than two years ago.

On Aug 12, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov reported that he discussed with French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu the possibility of lifting the ban on strikes against military targets in Russia.

“We discussed recent events on the front line. I emphasized the need to lift the ban on targeting military objectives in enemy territory,” Umerov said on Monday on his social media page.

Former British tank commander Hamish de Bretton-Gordon stated that Storm Shadow missiles could target “rail hubs and key roads leading to Kursk, as well as any airfields within a 100-mile (160-km) radius.”

Military combat airplanes (fighters, bombers, fighter-bombers) fly about 8-12 (statute) miles per minute at normal subsonic combat cruise speeds, meaning 100 miles is a short distance local flight for any aircraft likely to engage ground or air forces, according to a Kyiv Post analyst with two decades of military flying experience in fighters.

Storm Shadow is a joint UK-French development (British Aerospace and Matra) with two main variants: an export version with a range of up to 250 kilometers (155 miles) and a baseline version with a range of up to 560 kilometers. In the French Air Force, it is known as SCALP-EG. While a range of 250 kilometers (348 miles) is NATO standard, it represents a significant breakthrough for the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the anti-Russian coalition.

Ukraine has also approached the US requesting permission to use ATACMS long-range missiles during the offensive in the Kursk direction, but has not yet received approval.