The British defense minister on Thursday confirmed that the U.K. is sending long-range missiles to Ukraine. Speaking in the House of Commons, Ben Wallace said the Storm Shadow cruise missiles would “allow Ukraine to push back Russian forces based on Ukrainian sovereign territory.” The missiles, which are fired from aircraft, have a range of over 155 miles—around three times larger than the U.S.-supplied HIMARS weapons already being used in Ukraine. Kyiv has asked for long-range missiles for months, but some countries—including the U.S.—have held off supplying them over fears of escalating the war. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov earlier this year told an EU meeting that the Russian army would “have to lose” the war if Ukraine had long-range missiles, adding that his country was “ready to provide any guarantees that your weapons will not be involved in attacks on the Russian territory.” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Thursday said Russia would make an “appropriate” military response if Storm Shadow missiles are used by Ukraine.
