The UK confirmed the supply of Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine

The UK has confirmed the supply of Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missiles to Ukraine.

UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace announced this, BBC News reports.

The decision to transfer these weapons follows repeated pleas from Ukraine for more weapons to counter Russian aggression.

Ben Wallace mentioned that the missiles would “allow Ukraine to push back Russian forces based on Ukrainian sovereign territory”.

He also shared that the UK took the decision after Russia “continued down a dark path” of targeting civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.

“The donation of these missile systems gives Ukraine the best chance to defend itself against Russian brutality,” UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace stated in the House of Commons.

According to him, the missiles were “going into” or already in Ukrainian hands, and described the move as “calibrated and proportionate to Russia’s escalations“.

Earlier on Thursday, CNN, with reference to its sources, reported that the United Kingdom has provided the Armed Forces of Ukraine with Storm Shadow cruise missiles.

It is emphasized that the UK has received assurances from the Ukrainian government that these missiles will be used only to defeat the Russian invasion forces within Ukrainian sovereign territory, and not inside Russia.

The Franco-British Storm Shadow, also known as the air-launched SCALP, weighs about 1,300 kilograms, with the weight of the warhead being 450 kg. The declared operational range of this cruise missile is more than 250 km in the export version, and up to 560 km for the French and British armies.

With these missiles, the combat aircraft of the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be able to strike deep into the territories of Ukraine captured by the Russian invaders, destroying important military facilities of the aggressor country.

In February of this year, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stated that his country would be the first to provide Ukraine with long-range weapons to counter the Russian invasion.