Ukraine fires British Storm Shadow missiles into Russia for first time

Ukraine has fired long-range British Storm Shadow missiles into Russian territory for the first time, according to a Bloomberg report on Wednesday, citing an unnamed Western official.

According to the report, unconfirmed images distributed via the Telegram messaging app appeared to show fragments of the missile at a location within Kursk region.

The UK approved the use of Storm Shadow missiles in response to Russia deploying North Korean troops in its war against Ukraine, a move the British government considered to be an escalation, added the report.

The issue took center stage at the G20 summit in Brazil this week after US President Joe Biden authorised Ukraine to launch long-range ATACMS missiles at Russian targets.

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However, UK leader Keir Starmer did not publicly endorse the decision, despite being seen as a supporter, raising questions about whether his government would approve the use of British-made Storm Shadow missiles, reported Bloomberg.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly urged Western governments to increase military support, including permitting the use of long-range missiles to strike key Russian targets critical to Vladimir Putin’s war effort.

In the UK, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s spokesperson, however, declined to comment on the media reports or operational matters.

Britain had previously said Ukraine could use Storm Shadow cruise missiles within Ukrainian territory but Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government has been pressing the US for permission to allow their use to strike targets inside Russia for several months.

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US President Joe Biden changed its policy to allow Ukraine to use US-made weapons to strike deep into Russia this week.

Meanwhile, US defence secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday confirmed that the Biden administration will allow Ukraine to use American-supplied antipersonnel land mines to help fight off Russian forces.

Speaking to reporters during a trip to Laos, Austin said Russian ground troops are leading the movement on the battlefield, rather than forces more protected in armoured carriers, so Ukraine has “a need for things that can help slow down that effort on the part of the Russians.”

“The land mines that we would look to provide them would be land mines that are not persistent, you know, we can control when they would self-activate, self-detonate and that makes it, you know, far more, safer eventually than the things that they are creating on their own,” Austin was quoted as saying.

With inputs from agencies