Britain donates long-range missiles to Ukraine

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Storm Shadow

The UK has handed over a number of Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine, reinforcing the Armed Forces ahead of an expected counter-offensive against Russian forces. This was reported by CNN with reference to sources on Thursday, May 11.

The Storm Shadow is a stealthy, long-range cruise missile jointly developed by the UK and France, usually launched from the air. It is capable of hitting targets at a distance of just over 250 kilometers and is quite a bit inferior in this component to the American ATACMS surface-to-surface missiles, which Ukraine has long requested.

A Western official told the TV channel that the UK had received assurances from the Ukrainian government that the missiles would only be used on sovereign Ukrainian territory and not on Russian territory.

The missile is “a game-changer in terms of range,” a senior U.S. military official told CNN. Kyiv is getting the opportunities it has been asking for since the beginning of the war. Currently, the maximum range of weapons provided by the United States for Ukraine is about 80 kilometers.

The missile deployment comes as Ukrainian forces prepare to launch a counteroffensive aimed at liberating Kremlin-held territory in the eastern and southern parts of the country.