May 11 (UPI) — British Defense Minister Ben Wallace announced Thursday that the nation has sent Storm Shadow cruise missiles to Ukraine to aid its fight against Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Speaking before the House of Commons Wallace said the missiles have “long-range conventional precision strike capability” and will complement the long-range systems Ukraine has already received.
“The donation of these weapon systems gives Ukraine the best chance to defend themselves against Russia’s continued brutality. Especially the deliberate targeting of Ukrainian infrastructure which is against International Law,” he said. “Ukraine has a right to defend itself against this. Their use of Storm Shadow will allow Ukraine to push back Russian forces based within Ukrainian Sovereign territory.
While Wallace did not comment on the specific capabilities of the missiles, the manufacturer says they have a range of approximately 186 miles, greatly surpassing the 50-mile range of the U.S.-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, which have been used to wreak havoc on Russian supply depots and military installations in occupied Ukraine.
The Storm Shadow is a cruise missile that can be launched from aircraft or ships and submarines and is designed to evade air defense by flying low and find its target using an infrared seeker.
Wallace, however, pointed out that the Storm Shadow is “not in the same league” as Russian cruise missiles and drones which allow Russia to strike the entirety of Ukrainian territory.
In February, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov told a meeting of EU officials Ukraine would guarantee that foreign weapons it receives “will not be involved in attacks on the Russian territory.”
“If we could strike at a distance of up to [186 miles], the Russian army wouldn’t be able to provide defense and will have to lose,” he said.
Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov suggested the Russian military would retaliate for the deliveries.
“This will require a relevant response from our military, which, of course, will make appropriate decisions from a military point of view,” Peskov said.
Wallace, however, said the delivery of the weapons was “responsive to Russia’s actions.”
“None of this would have been necessary had Russia not invaded,” he added.
“From the scale of Russia’s attacks, it is clear that they have not limited themselves to military targets — their purpose is simply to terrorize the local population into submission. That conclusion is the only one that can be drawn when you look at Russia’s ever-expanding charge sheet of international humanitarian law violations.”