The UK has supplied Storm Shadow, long-range air-launched cruise missiles, to Ukraine ahead of schedule, CNN reports, citing its sources.
The missile’s range is 250 km. A source told CNN that this projectile “a real game changer from a range perspective”. According to the TV channel, the maximum range of the missiles that were previously exported to Ukraine stands at 80 km.
“Critically, the Storm Shadow has the range to strike deep into Russian-held territory in Eastern Ukraine,” CNN notes.
Another anonymous source told journalists that Ukraine had vowed not to use these missiles to strike Russian territories. At the same time, CNN underlines that Western officials refer to Crimea as Ukraine’s sovereign territory.
Earlier today, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the BBC that Kyiv needs more time to launch its long-awaited counteroffensive because Ukraine is expecting arms supplies pledged by the West.
“With [what we already have] we can go forward, and, I think, be successful,” he stressed. “But we’d lose a lot of people. I think that’s unacceptable. So we need to wait. We still need a bit more time.”
