French Foreign Ministry: Permitting Ukraine to hit Russia with long-range missiles remains “one of the options”

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barro said that allowing Ukraine to fire long-range missiles at military facilities in Russia remains "one of the options".

These words are reported by Reuters.

"We openly said that this is an option that we would consider if it would allow us to strike a target from where Russia is currently carrying out aggression on the territory of Ukraine. So, on the other hand, there is nothing new," said the head of the French Foreign Ministry before the meeting of EU ministers in Brussels.

The day before, Le Figaro reported that France and Britain allowed Ukraine to fire long-range SCALP/Storm Shadow missiles into the territory of the Russian Federation.

Later, the publication removed this information.

"Debates were already raging in the offices regarding the permission to use Western missiles against Russian territory. Emmanuel Macron spoke in favour of this during a state visit to Germany in May 2024," the article now says without clear references to the permits that Ukraine allegedly received.

Volodymyr Zelensky commented on the permission from the USA, Britain and France to strike long-range missiles on the territory of the Russian Federation.

"Today, many people in the media are talking about the fact that we received permission to strike on the territory of the Russian Federation. But blows are not inflicted with words. Such things are not for announce. The missiles will speak for themselves," the president said.

Ban on attacks of Ukraine deep into Russia by the US and British weapons

Ukraine has long asked its allies to allow their weapons to be used for long-range strikes deep into Russia. For such purposes, Ukraineʼs arsenal includes, in particular, American ATACMS surface-to-surface long-range missiles and British Storm Shadow long-range missiles.

However, none of these countries officially gave Ukraine permission to use their weapons for attacks deep into the Russian Federation. The US feared a possible escalation against the background of this decision. They also believed that lifting restrictions on long-range strikes would have no strategic significance in the war, because Russia had moved its most important targets, including aircraft, away from the border and made them inaccessible for strikes.

In September, The Guardian wrote that Great Britain had already decided to allow Ukraine to fire long-range Storm Shadow missiles at targets in Russia.

But the Telegraph wrote that the United States stands in the way of this permission, because the missiles contain American-made spare parts.

A few days before the announcement of Ukraineʼs permission to strike ATACMS on the territory of the Russian Federation, the media wrote that French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer want to convince the US President Joe Biden to allow Ukraine to strike with long-range Storm Shadow missiles deep into Russia.

SCALP/Storm Shadow

Britain officially declared the transfer of Storm Shadow missiles in May 2023, but allowed to hit targets only in Crimea and other occupied territories of Ukraine. At the beginning of May 2024, the ex-minister of foreign affairs of Great Britain David Cameron said that Ukraine has the right to use weapons provided by London to strike targets in Russia, and it is up to Kyiv to decide whether to do so.

The new Prime Minister of Great Britain Keir Starmer confirmed on July 10 that Ukraine can use British missiles to attack Russia. He emphasized that Ukraine should decide for itself how it will use the Storm Shadow missiles provided by Britain.

However, The Telegraph newspaper noted that Britainʼs policy "has not changed" and the country, despite Starmerʼs statement, does not allow Ukraine to hit Russia with Storm Shadow missiles. Allegedly, British officials feared that such a move would lead to an escalation of the war and could involve Great Britain in a conflict with Russia.

• The Storm Shadow/SCALP EG long-range air-to-ground surface-to-air missile is a joint development between France and Great Britain. It is designed to destroy fortified ground stationary targets. The missile can break through the defense of powerful air defense systems, has a warhead of 450 kg and is capable of flying over 560 km.

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