Ukraine used British long-range Storm Shadow missiles to strike Russia

Ukraine has used British Storm Shadow missiles for the first time to strike Russian territory, after receiving approval from London, British media reported on Wednesday, a day after Ukrainian forces used long-range US missiles against Russia.

Kiev has long demanded permission to use this type of missile, but Westerners feared Moscow’s reaction, which stressed that this was a red line.

The Financial Times reported, citing three unnamed sources, including a Western official familiar with the strike, that several Storm Shadow missiles, with a range of more than 250 kilometers, were fired at least one Russian military target.

The United Kingdom has agreed to use these missiles against Russian territory in response to the deployment of North Korean forces to assist the Russian army, according to the Guardian newspaper.

On Tuesday, Ukraine used for the first time the US ATACMS missiles, with a range of 300 kilometers, to strike a Russian military facility in the Bryansk region.

Several Western countries have supplied Ukraine with long-range missiles but haven’t allowed them to be used to strike Russian territory.

Washington announced on Sunday that US President Joe Biden, who will hand over power in January to Donald Trump, the Republican billionaire who is less enthusiastic about financially supporting Ukraine, has finally given the green light to use these missiles against Russia.

Russia has intensified its warnings to Ukraine and the West in recent days after the United States gave Kiev the green light to strike Russian territory with long-range missiles it had delivered.

The Joe Biden administration announced on Wednesday that it would supply Ukraine with anti-personnel mines, a type of weapon widely criticized by NGOs for the number of civilian casualties it causes long after conflicts have ended.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed on Wednesday that the anti-personnel mines that Washington decided to send to Kiev despite criticism from non-governmental organizations are very important to stop the Russian army’s advance in the east of the country.

The Russian army continues to advance in eastern Ukraine and announced on Wednesday the capture of a new town near the city of Kurakhovye.

According to a US official, the mines that will be delivered to Ukraine will be non-permanent, meaning they will be equipped with a self-destruct or self-deactivation system.

The 1997 Nobel Peace Prize-winning anti-mine organization, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, condemned the disastrous decision by the United States and called on Ukraine to reject the use of such weapons.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the United States was absolutely determined to prolong the war in Ukraine and is doing everything it can to achieve this goal.

In response to US support for Kiev, Russia has issued nuclear warnings in recent days while accusing the West of wanting escalation.

According to its new doctrine on the use of nuclear weapons that became official Tuesday, Russia could now use them in the event of a massive attack from a non-nuclear state backed by a nuclear power, an apparent reference to Ukraine and the United States.

The head of Russian foreign intelligence, Sergei Naryshkin, confirmed on Wednesday that this change virtually excludes the possibility of defeating the Russian armed forces on the battlefield, suggesting that Russia would resort to the atomic bomb rather than be defeated in a conventional war.

Washington, Paris, London and the European Union denounced the irresponsible position, while Ukraine called on its allies not to give in to fear.

Chinese President Xi Jinping called on Wednesday for more voices to work toward a political solution to end the war in Ukraine, following his meeting with his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

China is a key partner of Russia and is accused of supporting Moscow militarily.

In parallel, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico urged all sides concerned to respect their international obligations and prioritize dialogue and the pursuit of peace, as well as avoid actions that lead to an arms race, according to a joint statement.

Ukraine on Wednesday expressed its displeasure at the temporary closure of Western embassies for fear of Russian shelling, stressing that the threat had existed on a daily basis since the start of the invasion in February.

At least five Western embassies – the United States, Spain, Italy, Hungary and Greece – announced they were temporarily closing on Wednesday due to threats of an air attack, after Russian rhetoric hardened.

The embassy closures on Wednesday came after the US embassy warned of a potential major air attack on Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry announced that “the threat of strikes… Has unfortunately become a daily reality for Ukrainians for more than a thousand days,” denying that the danger was greater on Wednesday.

Zelensky considered that spreading this type of news only leads to “helping Russia”.

He stressed in turn that the Russian threat remains the same, and said that Russia is “crazy” today, as it was on the first day of the invasion.

Drone and missile attacks, sometimes intense, have been almost daily in Kyiv for weeks and have been regular since the start of the war on February 24, 2022.

Air raid alerts were also sounded in Kyiv several times during the day and night; Drones were shot down with no reported casualties.