UK supplies Ukraine with additional Storm Shadow missiles for deep strikes into Russia, Bloomberg reports
The UK has transferred additional Storm Shadow cruise missiles to Ukraine, boosting Ukraine’s long-range strike capability against targets deep inside Russia, Bloomberg reported Nov. 3, citing unnamed sources.
The news comes as U.S. President Donald Trump continues to hesitate over whether to provide Kyiv with American-made Tomahawk long-range missiles.
Meanwhile, British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles have been repeatedly used by Ukrainian forces to strike targets inside Russia. In late October, Ukraine targeted the Bryansk Chemical Plant, situated approximately 110 kilometers (nearly 68 miles) from the border with Sumy Oblast.
An undisclosed number of missiles were delivered to replenish Ukraine's stockpiles ahead of winter, when Russia is expected to intensify its attacks, the source told Bloomberg.
The Storm Shadow missiles provided by the U.K. can strike targets at distances ranging from about 250 to 560 kilometers (155–350 miles), depending on the variant. Featuring sophisticated guidance systems, they travel at low altitudes and high speeds, making them highly effective against key targets.
Ukraine has previously used Storm Shadows to strike targets in Russia's Bryansk and Kursk oblasts, as well as in Russian-occupied Crimea.
Ukraine is seeking U.S.-produced Tomahawk missiles, which have a range of 1,600 to 2,500 kilometers (1,000–1,600 miles), considerably farther than the British Storm Shadow.
Kyiv had hoped the American missiles would enhance its ability to target Russian critical infrastructure and increase Moscow's economic costs, and in the lead-up to President Volodymyr Zelensky's meeting with Trump in Washington earlier this month, it had seemed like a possibility.
Zelensky left the Oct. 17 meeting without a commitment, despite Trump floating the idea several times.
Trump said on Nov. 2 that Washington has no immediate plans to supply its subsonic long-range missiles to Kyiv but added that "things can change."
Asami Terajima
