UK has sent ‘dozens’ more Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine

The UK recently sent Ukraine “dozens” more Storm Shadow long-range missiles in its first major arms shipment to Kyiv since Keir Starmer became prime minister in July, Bloomberg reported on Monday.

Citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter, Bloomberg said the unannounced deliveries were made several weeks ago, when Kyiv was experiencing shortages of the long-range missiles.

While the sources declined to specify the delivery date or number of missiles supplied for security reasons, they confirmed that the weapons were transferred before the US and UK lifted their restrictions on Ukraine firing long-range missiles into Russia earlier in November.

The Ministry of Defence refused to comment on the delivery as doing so “would only benefit” Vladimir Putin, but stressed that the UK’s support for Ukraine remained “ironclad”. The last confirmed transfer of Storm Shadows came in April under former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as part of the UK’s “largest ever” military aid package to Kyiv, Bloomberg noted.

The latest report came as the White House officially confirmed on Monday that the Biden administration had given permission for Ukraine to use long-range missiles to strike targets on Russian territory, with National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby telling journalists that the US had “changed the guidance” on Kyiv’s use of American-supplied weapons.

“Right now, they are able to use ATACMS to defend themselves in an immediate-need basis. Understandably, that’s taking place in and around Kursk”, Kirby said.

Both the US and the UK lifted their restrictions on Ukraine firing long-range missiles at targets in Russia earlier in November in response to Moscow’s deployment of North Korean soldiers to fight alongside the Russian army in the Kursk region.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine fired Storm Shadow missiles supplied by the UK into Russia’s southwestern Kursk region for the first time on Wednesday, just a day after striking a military facility in the neighbouring Bryansk region with US-supplied ATACMS missiles.

On Thursday, Vladimir Putin confirmed that Russia had struck the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro with a medium-range ballistic missile in response to the AFU’s strikes, which he called “NATO’s aggressive actions against Russia”.