The U.K. will supply Ukraine with additional long-range Storm Shadow missiles as Western countries pledge fresh military aid to Kyiv ahead of an anticipated Russian summer offensive.
The British government said on Tuesday it would commit its largest-ever tranche of military aid to Ukraine, worth £500 million ($622 million). The package includes more than 1,600 strike and air defense missiles, as well as further deliveries of Storm Shadow air-launched precision-guided missiles, vessels and vehicles, the British defense ministry said.
The new aid, announced shortly after the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of a significant military assistance package for Ukraine, comes just weeks ahead of an expected Russian push on resource-scarce Ukrainian positions.
"Storm Shadow and other missiles, hundreds of armored vehicles and watercraft, ammunition—all of this is needed on the battlefield," Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post to X on Tuesday.
The U.K. said in May 2023 that it would send the Anglo-French Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine. Paris then committed to sending its version of the missiles, known as SCALP, to Kyiv.
Made by European missile manufacturer MBDA, the missiles have an official range in excess of 155 miles, although experts have suggested they may be able to strike at further distances. The long-range missiles give Ukraine the ability to strike key Russian assets, like military headquarters, bunkers and logistics, far behind the front line.
"Deep strike attacks, like those using Storm Shadow, won't win the war, but this donation will be intended as another signal to others, with the UK being prepared to take yet more risk on its conventional capabilities in support of Ukraine," said Matthew Savill, director of military sciences at the U.K.-based think tank the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).
Storm Shadow missiles have been credited with a number of Ukrainian strikes that have proved embarrassing to Moscow. Kyiv used Storm Shadow missiles to strike a Russian warship and the Rostov-on-Don submarine, based at the Crimean city of Sevastopol, in September 2023.
Ukraine also used Storm Shadow missiles to strike a Russian military command hub in the Russian-controlled eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk in mid-April 2024, Sky News reported.
The British aid package includes 60 boats of various types, more than 400 vehicles and close to 4 million rounds of small arms ammunition.
"Today's package will help ensure Ukraine has what they need to take the fight to Russia," British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said.
On Saturday, the U.S. House of Representatives greenlit a new military aid package worth more than $60 billion. The U.S. is Ukraine's single-largest provider of military support.
The fresh aid had spent months stuck in Congress, bogged down by political infighting. The package is heading for the Senate and for U.S. President Joe Biden's sign-off in the coming days.
On Monday, Zelensky said securing long-range weaponry was a key priority for Kyiv, alongside air defense systems, modern artillery and "ensuring that the American support packages arrive as quickly as possible."
"Everything has been decided in the ATACMS negotiations for Ukraine," Zelensky said on Monday, referring to the U.S.'s long-range surface-to-surface Army Tactical Missile System. Kyiv first used ATACMS in October 2023.
Along with Storm Shadow, ATACMS "will enable the Ukrainians to complement any operations on the front line, with pressure on Russian airbases and supply dumps further back," RUSI's Savill said.
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Ellie Cook is a Newsweek security and defense reporter based in London, U.K. Her work focuses largely on the Russia-Ukraine ... Read more
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