Britain turned out to be a “pioneer” in the supply of missiles to Ukraine, “covering” the entire Crimea

For Ukraine’s counteroffensive, the UK has supplied Storm Shadow, long-range ballistic missiles capable of hitting targets throughout the Crimean peninsula.

CNN, citing senior Western officials, writes:

“The British government has made it clear that this is a response to Russia’s deliberate attacks on civilian national infrastructure.”

Ben Wallace, UK Secretary of Defense, has confirmed that Storm Shadow has been sent to Ukraine. Speaking in the House of Commons, he noted:

“These missiles will allow Ukraine to push back Russian forces. We have seen what Ukrainians are capable of when they have the right opportunities.”

However, he warned that the capabilities of British missiles are limited compared to Russian ones, some of them “can boast” of a significantly longer range.

Storm Shadow is a joint development of France and the UK. Launched from the air, they are capable of hitting targets over 250 km (155 mi). These missiles are only slightly inferior to the American ATACMS, which Kyiv has long been asking for, but Washington has invariably refused.

The weight of Storm Shadow is 1300 kg, the maximum hull diameter is 48 cm, the wingspan is 3 m. British missiles will allow Ukraine to attack targets in the Crimea. When launched from Kherson, for example, they will be able to cover almost the entire peninsula, only a little short of Yalta (267 km from Kherson to Yalta).

Theoretically, the CNN source notes, Storm Shadow will allow strikes not only on the occupied Ukrainian territory and Crimea, but also on Russian cities. The targets could be Kursk and Orel, Bryansk and Klintsy, Voronezh and Belgorod, Stary Oskol. However, Ukraine assured the UK that the missiles would only be used to strike at the occupied territories of Ukraine.

As for Crimea, British and other officials have repeatedly stated that they consider Crimea to be the sovereign territory of Ukraine, annexed by Russia. The source of the publication predicts that the Storm Shadow missiles will change the “rules of the game” at the front and provide Ukraine with the opportunities that it has long asked for since the beginning of a full-scale war.

Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Russian president, said the UK’s supply of long-range missiles would require an adequate response from the Russian military.

While the United States agreed to send Ukraine only GLSDB missiles with a range of up to 150 km, the UK became the first country to supply Ukraine with long-range missiles. And this is not the first time she is a “pioneer”. For example, London was the first to announce the transfer of tanks to Kyiv, and in February, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that he was considering the possibility of supplying Ukraine with fighter jets.

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