The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky appealed to the Prime Minister of Great Britain Keir Starmer with a request to help Ukraine obtain permission to strike deep into Russia with long-range Western weapons.
Zelensky said this at an extraordinary meeting of the British government, reports The Guardian.
Zelensky stressed: if the restrictions on strikes by Western weapons against targets in Russia are lifted, it will strengthen Ukraineʼs defense and allow Kyiv to destroy Russian weapons storage facilities.
Discussing the issue of long-range weapons, Zelensky said that "we still do not have the main answer to this question." So he called on Prime Minister Starmer to "show leadership". Zelensky says that the permission to strike Russia with long-range weapons is an important element of protection against Moscowʼs aggression.
The British government has expressed the opinion that the use of long-range British missiles is, after all, Ukraineʼs business, if it complies with international law.
What preceded
In May 2023, Great Britain officially announced the transfer of long-range Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine, but allowed them to hit targets only on the territory of Crimea and other occupied territories of Ukraine. At the beginning of May 2024, the former foreign minister 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.
New British Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed on July 10 that Ukraine can use British missiles to strike Russia, and that it is up to Ukraine to decide how it will use Storm Shadow missiles. After that, President Zelensky thanked him and stated that they "discussed the practical implementation of this decision."
However, on July 12, The Telegraph newspaper, citing sources in the British Ministry of Defense, wrote that Britainʼs policy "has not changed" and the country, despite Starmerʼs statement, does not allow Ukraine to hit Russia with Storm Shadow missiles. The British Foreign Minister said that in London they are still considering this request of Ukraine, but the British support Ukraineʼs right to self-defense.