Britain Moves First To Supply Ukraine With Long-Range Cruise Missiles

Britain on Thursday became the first country to start supplying Ukraine with long-range cruise missiles, which will allow Ukrainian forces to hit Russian troops and supply dumps deep behind the front lines.

Ukraine has been asking for months for long-range missiles, but support provided by Britain and other allies such as the United States has previously been limited to shorter range weapons.

Highlighting what he called the deliberate targeting of civilians, Britain’s Defence Minister,  Ben Wallace told parliament: “Russia must recognise that its actions alone have led to such systems being provided.”

Wallace said Britain was supplying the Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine so they could be used within its territory, implying he had received assurances from Ukraine that they would not be used to target inside Russia.

The missiles “are now going into, or are in, the country itself,” he said.

The Kremlin earlier said that if Britain provided these missiles, it would require “an adequate response from our military.”

Russia has launched a flurry of long-range missile strikes against Ukraine in recent days. It has previously said such attacks were designed to degrade Kyiv’s ability to fight and that it does not deliberately target civilians.

Ukraine is expected to unleash a counteroffensive soon after six months of keeping its forces on the defensive. Russia mounted a huge winter offensive that failed to capture significant territory.

Reuters/Shakirat Sadiq