UK delivers long-range ‘Storm Shadow’ cruise missiles to Ukraine

The United Kingdom has sent a number of "Storm Shadow" cruise missiles to Ukraine, providing the nation with a new long-range strike capability ahead of a highly anticipated counteroffensive against Russian forces, according to an exclusive CNN report.

UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, who describedthe donation as Ukraine’s “best chance to defend themselves against Russia’s continued brutality,” confirmed the deliveryon Thursday (May 11).

Developed jointly by the UK and France, the Storm Shadow is a long-range cruise missile with stealth features and one which is typically launched from the air. With a shooting range of more than 250 km (155 miles), it falls short of the 185-mile range capability of the US-made surface-to-surface Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, which Ukraine has long requested.

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What can 'Storm Shadow' do?

The Storm Shadow has the potentialto strike deep into Russian-held territory in Eastern Ukraine. A Western official told CNN that the UK has received assurances from the Ukrainian government that these missiles will be used only within Ukrainian sovereign territory and not inside Russia.

UK officials have time and again madepublic statements identifying Crimea as Ukrainian sovereign territory, describing it as “illegally annexed.”

The missile is “a real game changer from a range perspective,” a senior US military official told CNN and gives Kyiv an advantage thatit has been asking forsince the beginningof the war.

The deployment of the missiles comes as Ukrainian forces prepare to launch a counteroffensive intended to retake Kremlin-held territory in the eastern and southern parts of the country.

The missiles' deployment comes as Ukrainian forces prepare to begin a counteroffensive aimed at retaking Kremlin-held areas in the country's east and south.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country needed "a little more time" before launching a counteroffensive to allow some of the promised Western weaponry to arrive.

“With [what we have] we can go forward and be successful.But we’d lose a lot of people. I think that’s unacceptable,”Zelensky told European public service broadcasters in an interview published on Thursday.

“So we need to wait. We still need a bit more time,” he added.

UK tries to go one step ahead of the US

This is not the first time that Britain has gone above and beyond what the US is willing to deliver to Ukraine in terms of weaponry. It was the first ally to announce it would send contemporary Western tanks to Ukraine, pledging 14 Challenge 2 tanks in January, before the US stated it would add M-1 Abrams tanks shortly after.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hinted earlier this year that Britain was considering supplying long-range missiles.

“We must help Ukraine to shield its cities from Russian bombs and Iranian drones,” Sunak said at the Munich Security Conference on February 18.

“And that’s why the UK will be the first country to provide Ukraine with longer-range weapons,” he added.

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