Permission to strike Russia with UK missiles 'not a done deal,' British officials tell Telegraph
Editor's note: The article was updated with comments from European Pravda's interview with U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
Ukraine has not received permission to use British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles to strike Russian territory, unnamed U.K. official sources told the Telegraph in a comment published on July 11, explaining that the situation is "more nuanced."
Later the same day, U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in an interview with European Pravda that the matter is still under consideration but refused to provide details.
The confusion began when new U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer apparently signaled on July 10 that Ukraine could use Storm Shadow to hit military targets inside Russia.
The missiles are "obviously to be used in accordance with international humanitarian law" and "for defensive purposes," but "it is for Ukraine to decide how to deploy (them) for those defensive purposes," the prime minister said during the NATO summit in Washington.
Starmer's remarks echoed the words of former U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron, who said early in May that Kyiv had the right to use the weapons provided by London to strike targets on Russian soil. The Kyiv Independent's source in the Presidential Office disputed the statement at the time, saying that there was no green light from the U.K.
After his meeting with Starmer, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the two had discussed "the practical implementation" of the U.K.'s permission to use Storm Shadow against targets in Russia.
Defense Minister Rustem Umerov also mentioned "Britain's permission to use Storm Shadow missiles against military facilities in Russia" in a post on social media.
The Telegraph reported soon after that despite Starmer's remarks, the country has not relaxed its policy on long-range missile use, as officials fear such a step may lead to an "escalation."
The newspaper's senior defense source claimed that the situation "was more nuanced" than Zelensky suggested. The permission for long-range missile strikes on targets inside Russia would require the approval of three countries.
Though the sources did not specify the other two countries, France produces its own variants of Storm Shadow called SCALP/T, which have also been supplied to Ukraine.
When asked if Ukraine would fire Storm Shadow into Russia, the source told the newspaper that "it is not going to happen."
The sources also said that the missile had not been used this year, adding that Zelensky would have to "seek assurances elsewhere" before Ukraine could launch Storm Shadow on Russian soil. The assurances "were not a done deal," they said.
The Kyiv Independent requested comment from Ukraine's Defense Ministry, the U.K. Defense Ministry, and Zelensky's office but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
Ukraine has reportedly used U.K.-supplied Storm Shadow missiles, with a range of up to 250 kilometers (150 miles), to hit Russian military targets in Crimea, a sovereign Ukrainian territory illegally annexed by Russia.
When Russia launched its intensified offensive against Kharkiv Oblast in May, a number of countries said they had lifted restrictions on the use of Western-provided weapons against military targets inside Russia.
The U.S. granted Kyiv limited permission to use certain American weapons to strike Russian targets near the region's border.
President Volodymyr Zelensky keeps urging Washington to allow Ukraine to hit targets deep inside Russia, including military aircraft stationed on bases.
Mariana Lastovyria
