Bloomberg: Britain handed Ukraine “dozens” of long-range Storm Shadow missiles

Great Britain handed over "dozens" more of its long-range Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine — for the first time since Keir Starmer became prime minister.

Bloomberg writes about this with reference to sources.

The deliveries, which were not publicly announced, took place several weeks ago. They were ordered after Kyiv ran out of long-range missiles. At the same time, the new Storm Shadow missiles arrived before the US and Great Britain allowed Ukraine to fire long-range missiles at targets in Russia. Bloombergʼs sources did not specify the date of the transfer of the missiles and their exact number for security reasons.

The new batch of Storm Shadow missiles was delivered for the first time during the Prime Ministership of Keir Starmer, who promised to continue supporting Ukraine in the war.

On November 20, the British newspaper The Times, citing sources, wrote that the US probably allowed Ukraine to fire British long-range Storm Shadow missiles deep into Russia. This permission was needed because Storm Shadow missiles use American navigation data during flight. London is careful to make statements about this, only to officially confirm it after the use of missiles on the battlefield.

Last week, the media wrote that Ukraine hit the Kursk region of Russia with British missiles. And the day before that, American long-range ATACMS missiles hit a warehouse with ammunition in the Bryansk region.

Kyiv asked for permission for such strikes for a long time, but the decisions of London and Washington became a response to the participation of the North Korean military in the war against Ukraine. However, the move is also seen as an attempt by the US President Joe Biden and his allies to strengthen Ukraineʼs position in any negotiations with Moscow that may take place next year, as President-elect Donald Trump promises to "quickly end the war" — and it is not known on what terms.

• The Storm Shadow/SCALP EG long-range air-to-ground surface-to-air missile is a joint development of 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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