Earlier this week, newly elected British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, responding to journalists' questions during the NATO summit in Washington, stated that Ukraine can use British long-range Storm Shadow missiles to strike military targets directly on Russian territory, Bloomberg reports.
This is indeed great news, considering that the US limited this range to 100 km, while with Storm Shadow, the Ukrainian Defense Forces would gain many more opportunities to strike various enemy targets.
Read more: US Loses European Market Due to Ban on Ukraine Striking russia: EU to Develop Own Cruise Missile
Starmer agreed it was up to Ukraine how it used the Storm Shadow missiles donated by the UK.
The missiles must “obviously to be used in accordance with international humanitarian law as you would expect,” the premier added, stating his position that Storm Shadows were to be used “for defensive purposes.”
“But it is for Ukraine to decide how to deploy it for those defensive purposes,” he said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also reacted to this news, noting in one of his posts: "In the morning [on July 10], I read about the permission to use Storm Shadow missiles on military targets in russia. And today we had the opportunity to discuss the practical implementation of this decision," he said.
At the same time, on July 11, the British publication The Telegraph released an article stating that the UK had not actually given Ukraine permission to strike russian territory with Storm Shadow missiles, as explained by the country's defense ministry.
And Kir Starmer's premature comment there was called "an uncomfortable diplomatic moment." They reminded that Ukraine can strike with Storm Shadow missiles at temporarily occupied territories, including Crimea, and British officials are concerned that permission to strike russia could escalate tensions and potentially involve the UK in a conflict with russia.
As noted in the publication, according to their sources, Storm Shadow missiles have not been used this year to strike russia, and obtaining permission requires "green light" from three countries, notably mentioning the United Kingdom and France as missile manufacturers.
Read more: ATACMS is Better Than Storm Shadow, IISS Says After Seeing Impact of Both in Ukraine
