NATO ally ‘greenlights’ storm shadow strikes inside Russia: report

The U.K.’s new prime minister said that Ukraine can use Britain’s Storm Shadow missiles to strike military targets inside Russia, according to a report from Bloomberg.

Keir Starmer, whose Labour Party won the country’s general election on July 4, confirmed late Tuesday that he will continue using the U.K.’s previous policy on the use of the country’s long-rage weapons in the Russia-Ukraine war.

Newsweek has reached out to the Cabinet Office and Britain’s Ministry of Defence via email for comment.

The Context

Ukraine has said it needs to strike military targets inside Russia to defend itself and repel Russian attacks.

This is likely to be one of the main issued that will be discussed at the NATO summit in Washington this week.

What We Know

Starmer made the comments en route to Washington, D.C. for the NATO summit. He said it was up to Ukraine how it used the missiles.

The missiles must “obviously be used in accordance with international humanitarian law as you would expect,” Starmer added, according to Bloomberg, stating his position that Storm Shadows were to be used “for defensive purposes.”

Storm Shadows are precision-guided cruise missiles with a firing range in excess of 250 kilometers (155 miles).

They are “one of Ukraine’s most significant enablers in terms of striking deep behind weapon lines,” according to Keir Giles, a Senior Consulting Fellow at international affairs think tank Chatham House.

“That’s one of the reasons why other frontline states on Russia’s Western periphery have invested in a similar missile made by the United States,” Giles added.

Some European countries such as the U.K. have expressed support for Ukraine’s position, but the U.S. government has so far resisted lifting all restrictions on the use of its weapons by Kyiv. The Biden administration says it has not enabled Ukrainian strikes deep within Russia, considering that a red line in order to prevent escalation with Moscow.

The remarks are the first time Starmer has committed his new administration to the policy following his election victory last week.

Views

Giles told Newsweek that Starmer’s government is “off to a strong start dispelling any doubts about how firmly they recognize the UK interest lies in supporting Ukraine.”

“The confirmation that Ukraine is not limited from using U.K. supplied weapons any comes as a welcome contrast to U.S. policy which has not shifted, even in the light of Russia’s terror attack on a children’s hospital on Monday,” he said.

Giles added that this had “renewed calls for the United States to lift the ban on striking into Russia.”

What’s Next?

This week marks the beginning of NATO’s 75^th anniversary summit. Kyiv has been making increasing calls for more help from NATO in order to bolster the military effort against Russia.

Giles said that this move from the UK government, “has confirmed that the right of Ukraine to strike back against the Russian aggressor is entirely in accordance with international law.”

In addition to the aid proposed by the U.K., Kyiv has asked NATO for seven Patriot systems. A decision is expected on this at the NATO summit this week in response to the widespread outrage over Monday’s missile attack on Kyiv by Russia.

Update, 7/10/24, 9:08 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Keir Giles.

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