Pages

19 September 2024

With approval for Ukraine to fire long-range Storm Shadow missiles on the horizon, Russia threatens war with NATO nations

Heloise Vyas

Ukraine's pleas for permission to fire long-range missiles in Russia have dominated high-level engagements between US and UK officials this week

However, despite a visit to Kyiv by the nations' top diplomats and a meeting between their leaders, no consensus has been reached.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with US President Joe Biden in Washington on Friday and they discussed whether to allow Ukraine to strike deep in Russian territory using Western-supplied weapons, which already are in its possession but continue to be restricted by the White House.

At the centre of the talks was the Storm Shadow — a British-French missile that the UK supplied to Kyiv last year but has not been green-lit for use outside Ukrainian borders.

What are Storm Shadow missiles?

Storm Shadows are air-launched cruise missiles capable of hitting targets up to 250 kilometres away.

While Ukraine already has drones with much longer range (1,800km according to Ukraine's military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov), the missiles are designed for attacks against high-value targets such as hardened bunkers and ammunition stores.

No comments:

Post a Comment