Ukraine should be free to strike targets on Russian territory with weapons it receives from London, David Cameron, the United Kingdom's foreign secretary, has said during a visit to Kyiv.
"Ukraine has that right. Just as Russia is striking inside Ukraine, you can quite understand why Ukraine feels the need to make sure it's defending itself," Cameron said outside St. Michael's Cathedral in Kyiv, according to Reuters.
The use of weapons, missiles and munitions supplied by Ukraine's Western allies to strike Russian territory has previously been seen as a major red line for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
However, Ukraine has grown emboldened by the increasing range and success of its attacks on refineries, military hubs and airfields across Russia, though it has insisted only domestically produced drones and missiles have been used so far.
The U.K.'s top diplomat reaffirmed his country's commitment to supporting Ukraine during his visit to Kyiv, promising £3 billion ($3.74 billion) of military aid—the U.K's largest aid package since the start of the war—for "as long as it takes."
"We will give £3 billion every year for as long as is necessary. We've just really emptied all we can in terms of giving equipment," Cameron said.
The news comes as another major boost for Kyiv, just days after the U.S. approved a historic and long-awaited $60 billion Ukraine aid package.
Prior to that, the Biden administration had not sent a package of aid to Kyiv since December, allowing Russian forces to take advantage of dwindling Ukrainian resources to make significant gains along the front line.
The latest U.K. aid package will be used to rapidly deliver ammunition, air defenses, drones and engineering support to Ukraine, U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced in April.
The package contains, among other things, 60 boats, including offshore raiding craft, over 1,600 strike and air defense missiles, Storm Shadow missiles and 162 armored vehicles.
The Storm Shadow long-range, precision-guided missiles have already proven effective in striking Russia's Black Sea Fleet.
Kyiv used Storm Shadows to strike a Russian warship and the Rostov-on-Don submarine, based at the Crimean city of Sevastopol, in September 2023. They were also used to destroy the headquarters of the Black Sea fleet in Crimea.
Ukraine also used Storm Shadow missiles to strike a Russian deep space network center in December 2023 and a military command hub in the Russian-controlled eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk in mid-April 2024.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Yevgeny Kuklychev is Newsweek's London-based Senior Editor for Russia, Ukraine and Eastern Europe. He previously headed Newsweek's Misinformation Watch and ... Read more
