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Reuters withdraws its story that stated UK’s Cameron said UK not against its weapons being used inside Russia

UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron promises $3.75 billion in annual military aid for Ukraine, saying British weapons can be used inside Russia, as per Reuters.

byYuri Zoria

02/05/2024

2 minute read

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Ukrainian Su-24 bomber carrying a British-supplied Storm Shadow missile. Screenshot from the Ukrainian military’s video.

Reuters withdraws its story that stated UK’s Cameron said UK not against its weapons being used inside Russia

On 2 May in Kyiv, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron pledged £3 billion ($3.75 billion) in annual military assistance for Ukraine for "as long as is necessary," saying the UK has no objections to the weapons it provided being used within Russia, according to Reuters. Update: the story is withdrawn. In an interview with Reuters in Kyiv, Cameron noted that some of the British equipment "is actually arriving in Ukraine today, while I'm here,"

also noting:

"We will give three billion pounds every year for as long as is necessary. We've just really emptied all we can in terms of giving equipment," the British Foreign Secretary said.

According to Reuters, Cameron said Ukraine could use the weapons London provided to attack targets inside Russia, leaving the decision up to Kyiv.

"Ukraine has that right. Just as Russia is striking inside Ukraine, you can quite understand why Ukraine feels the need to make sure it's defending itself," the UK top diplomat said.

The US and Germany supply their weapons to Ukraine on the condition that Kyiv won't use them on Russian territory. Cameron's statement, if accurately conveyed by Reuters, potentially opens the possibility of Ukrainian strikes using British Storm Shadow missiles inside Russia. The provided quote did not explicitly mention the British weapons. In February, Finland’s Defence Minister said Finland had not restricted Ukraine’s use of weapons it supplied, with the Finnish Chair of the defense committee agreeing Ukraine can legitimately target military sites in Russia. Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze confirmed that Ukraine received Western weapons from some partners with permission to strike Russian territory. Update: Reuters has withdrawn its story, pending a review of "certain details." Update 2 May 2024: A few hours after its withdrawal, Reuters reinstated its updated article with no changes to key points in it. Follow-up: