Britain is poised to allow Ukraine to use Storm Shadow missiles for strikes inside Russia following a similar decision by US President Joe Biden regarding American-made Atacms weapons.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer indicated Britain’s readiness to enhance support for Ukraine at the G20 summit, though he avoided operational specifics.
“We need to double down. We need to make sure Ukraine has what is necessary for as long as necessary, because we cannot allow Putin to win this war”, Starmer said.
Storm Shadow missiles, with a range of about 250 kilometres, have previously been supplied to Ukraine by Britain and France for use within Ukraine’s internationally recognised borders.
Their deployment inside Russia had been effectively vetoed by the United States, which supplies a crucial guidance system.
The US policy shift came after Biden approved the use of Atacms missiles to counter an expected offensive by an estimated 50,000 Russian and North Korean forces in Kursk.
Ukraine has sought such capability to strike deeper Russian targets including barracks, fuel depots and airbases.
Russia condemned the western moves as an escalation.
“It is clear that the outgoing administration in Washington intends to take steps to continue to add fuel to the fire”, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, referencing Putin’s earlier warnings that such decisions would mean NATO was effectively “at war” with Moscow.
France indicated openness to following suit, with Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot noting Paris would consider permitting strikes on Russian soil.
However, Germany maintained its position against supplying long-range Taurus missiles to Kyiv.
Defence Secretary John Healey reinforced Britain’s stance in Parliament, echoing the prime minister’s commitment whilst avoiding operational details. “The prime minister has made clear, as I do to the House today, that we must double down on the support for Ukraine”, he said.
