Ukraine fires UK-made Storm Shadow missiles at Russia for the first time

Ukrainian armed forces fired British-made Storm Shadow long-range missiles inside Russia for the first time on Wednesday (Nov. 20).

The residents in the village of Marino, Kursk, found fragments from a Storm Shadow missile, reported the Telegraph.

This comes after US President Joe Biden administration permitted Ukraine to use US-made long-range missiles to target inside Russia.

Earlier, Russia also launched a counteroffensive in Kursk, which was invaded by Ukrainian troops in August.

Earlier, the Ukrainian armed forces carried out their first strike in a border region within Russian territory with an Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missile.

The Russian defence ministry had claimed that Kyiv fired six US-made ATACMS at Russia’s Bryansk region, adding that five of these missiles were downed and the sixth was damaged.

How do Storm Shadow missiles work?

Storm Shadow missile is an Anglo-French cruise missile with a maximum range of around 155 miles (250 km). It carries a bunker-busting warhead and flies low and fast to evade air defences.

After launch, the weapon, equipped with its navigation system, descends to a low altitude to avoid detection before locking on to its target using an infra-red seeker.

On the final approach, it climbs to a higher altitude to maximise the chances of hitting the target.

Moreover, it travels at speeds of more than 600 mph, is just over five metres long, and has a wingspan of three metres.

Till now, Storm Shadow missiles have been used by Ukraine inside its territory for some time. However, now, Ukraine has been given a green flag for using long-range missiles inside Russia.

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(With inputs from agencies)