PARIS, November 18. /TASS/. The information in last night’s report by Le Figaro about France and the United Kingdom granting permission to use SCALP and Storm Shadow missiles for strikes inside Russia has been taken down from the French newspaper’s website.

The article discussed a report by The New York Times, which claimed that US President Joe Biden had authorized Ukraine to use ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles to strike Russian territory. "France and Britain have authorized Ukraine to use their SCALP/Storm Shadow missiles to target inside Russia," Le Figaro originally reported, but this claim has since been removed. However, this statement is still included in a video caption on Le Figaro’s website, according to a TASS reporter.

The newspaper has not yet responded to a TASS inquiry asking why the statement was removed and whether the information regarding the use of SCALP and Storm Shadow missiles was correct. So far, neither the US, nor France, nor Britain has confirmed the information reported by The New York Times and Le Figaro about the permission to use missiles for strikes inside Russia.

On September 12, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that a potential decision on the use of Western-made long-range weapons against Russia would imply the direct involvement of the US and its NATO allies in the war in Ukraine. This would significantly alter the essence and nature of the conflict, forcing Moscow to make appropriate decisions, the Russian president warned. Putin stressed that without Western aid, Ukraine would be incapable of launching strikes inside Russia because these would require satellite intelligence and mission input data.