According to The Telegraph, the UK government has not given Ukraine approval to use Storm Shadow missiles as part of its ongoing Kursk offensive, according to a government source who stated, “There has been no change.” This comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy continues to pressure Western allies for permission to use long-range weapons to strike deeper into Russian territory.
On 12 August, Zelenskyy said he instructed defense officials and diplomats to “present a list of necessary actions on our part to obtain permission from our partners to use long-range weapons to defend our territory.” During a UK visit last month, he lobbied British PM Keir Starmer to lift restrictions on how the Storm Shadow missile, which has a range of about 250 kilometers, is used.
Storm Shadows against logistics
Ukraine aims to strike airfields and logistics hubs far beyond the front line that Moscow is using to reinforce its position in Russia’s Kursk Oblast.
According to The Telegraph, Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a former British tank commander, suggested that Storm Shadow missiles would be able to strike “rail heads and key roads coming into Kursk, plus any airfields within 100 miles.”
The decision on Storm Shadow missile use is not solely the UK’s to make, as the weapon is manufactured in collaboration with France, giving Paris a say in usage conditions. Kyiv has also requested permission from Washington to use its ATACMS long-range missile during the Kursk offensive, which has so far been refused.
The UK Prime Minister’s spokesman reiterated the UK’s position:
“We have been providing military aid to support Ukraine’s clear right of self-defense against Russia’s illegal attacks in accordance with international humanitarian law. We are clear that equipment provided by the UK is intended for the defense of Ukraine.”
Two Kursks
The Ukrainian president ordered a “humanitarian plan” for Russian citizens in Ukrainian-controlled part of Kursk Oblast, as his forces built hospitals and fortifications for an anticipated occupation.
Zelenskyy noted that the “Kursk disaster” 24 years ago, which claimed the lives of 118 Russian sailors in a submarine accident, marked the beginning of Putin’s rule.
“And now it is clear this is the end for him,” he continued. “And it is also Kursk.”
Related:
- Kirby calls Putin’s “West v. Russia” claim about Ukraine’s Kursk incursion “horse-hockey”
- Ukraine’s Security Service warns that Russian FSB is about to stage war crimes to blame Ukraine
- Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi says Ukraine controls nearly 1,000 square kilometers of Russia
- Kursk incursion: experts debate Ukraine’s objectives as Kyiv consolidates blitz gains
- DeepState: The Ukrainian army controls 44 Russian settlements, according to conservative estimates
- Putin demands that the Russian Ministry of Defense “squeeze out the enemy” from the Kursk region
- Frontline report: Ukraine gains more territory in Kursk in 3 Days than Russia in 3 months in Kharkiv
- ISW: Ukraine’s surprise Kursk incursion exposes gaps in Russia’s strategic planning
