LONDON, September 13. /TASS/. Ukraine has a relatively low number of Storm Shadow long-range missiles in its arsenals, because the Kiev government actively used them in its previous aerial attacks on Crimea, The Daily Telegraph wrote citing military sources.
Reports on whether Kiev is authorized to use the UK-supplied missiles for deep strikes on Russia have been controversial over the past few months.
On July 10, Bloomberg reported that UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer recognized Ukraine’s right to use Storm Shadow for strikes inside Russia. Later, UK defense officials disavowed his remarks. The Daily Telegraph wrote that the country’s military command considered these statements to be inappropriate, adding that Starmer went too far in acknowledging this publicly.
The Guardian reported on Wednesday, citing sources, that the UK greenlighted the use of long-range Storm Shadow missiles for strikes inside Russian territory. However, London will not make any public announcements on the matter, according to the newspaper. At the same time, media reported that the UK may require Washington's permission to authorize such strikes, because the missiles are made with US-made components. The issue is presumed to be among questions raised at a meeting between UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Joe Biden in Washington on September 13.