In a major change of policy, the UK has reportedly made a discreet decision to allow Kyiv to strike targets deep inside Russia with British Storm Shadow cruise missiles.
The Guardian said unnamed British officials “indicated” to the publication that “a decision had already been made to allow Ukraine to use Storm Shadow cruise missiles on targets inside Russia.” The sources added that the decision likely wouldn’t be announced publicly until after Friday’s meeting between the UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and US President Joe Biden in Washington.
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The publication, citing the same sources, added that the visit “would not be taking place had there been no positive decision regarding Storm Shadow.”
The update came after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy visited Kyiv on Wednesday, where the two met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky who once again made an appeal to be allowed to use long-range donated weapons against targets in Russia.
Following the meeting, Blinken and Lammy promised a swift review of Ukraine’s repeated appeal to ease restrictions on attacking inside Russia – including the use of Storm Shadows – as they announced $1.5 billion in new aid ahead of a potentially difficult winter.
Though neither Blinken nor Lammy had explicitly stated that either country would lift the long-range strike restrictions, some speculated that positive decision was made in response to Iran’s recent missile supplies to Russia.
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“The escalator here is Putin. Putin has escalated with the shipment of missiles from Iran. We see a new axis of Russia, Iran and North Korea,” Lammy said.
Blinken also said that Washington would “continue” to revise and adapt its weapon policies as the war progresses.
Kyiv has been appealing to its Western allies to lift restrictions on striking targets inside Russia using Western long-range weapons to eliminate the threats at source, such as airfields where warplanes that launch bombs and missiles against Ukraine are based.
The Anglo-French Storm Shadow/SCALP EG cruise missile has two main variants: an export version with a range of up to 250 kilometers (155 miles) and the version in use with the UK and French forces with a range of up to 560 kilometers (350 miles).
However, even if the UK allows Ukraine to conduct deep strikes inside Russia using Storm Shadows, Kyiv might need to seek additional authorization from Washington prior to the strikes as they use elements of US technology covered by Washington’s International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).
Apart from the fear of escalation US reluctance has also focused on the fear that some of this technology could fall into Russian hands. However, at least one Storm Shadow was shot down and taken largely intact by Russian forces near Zaporizhzhia in July, so that fear should no longer apply. If the UK does give the go ahead on Friday then presumably this hurdle has already been addressed between London, Washington and, probably, Paris.
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