The US has given the green light for Ukraine to use British Storm Shadow missiles to strike deep into Russian territory, it has been claimed.
Ukrainian media cited The Times, which reported that the turning point was the arrival of North Korean troops in Russia, according to a Foreign Office source.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is reportedly keen to allow Ukraine to begin using the British weapons, which have a range of just over 155 miles.
Asked at a press conference in Rio de Janeiro yesterday whether Britons should prepare for nuclear war, the Prime Minister hinted that the decision was imminent.
He said: “I’ve been really clear for a long time now, we need to double down. We need to make sure Ukraine has what is necessary for as long as necessary, because we cannot allow Putin to win this war.
“But I’m not going to go into operational matters, because there’s only one winner if I do that, and that is Putin.”
Insiders have suggested that previous objections by the United States have been dropped, clearly the way for the missiles to be used.
Addressing concerns about possible escalation, he added: “This is irresponsible rhetoric coming from Russia and that is not going to deter our support for Ukraine.
“We’re now on day 1,000 of a conflict, that’s 1,000 days of Russian aggression, 1,000 days of sacrifices in Ukraine.
“We have stood with Ukraine from the start. I’ve been doubling down in my clear message that we need to ensure Ukraine has what is needed for as long as needed to win this war against Putin.”
Also speaking yesterday, Lord Admiral West, a Labour peer, said: “I think the Americans and ourselves have made it a huge cause célèbre and it shouldn’t be.
“Way back when, these things should have been released without making a big deal.
They’ve made it become a very big issue and I think that’s unfortunate.”
One Downing Street source said Sir Keir had deliberately been careful in his language.
They explained: “There are very good operational reasons why we need to be cautious in what we say. The last thing we want to do is hand Putin a strategic advantage on the battlefield.”
According to manufacturers MBDA, Storm Shadow is an “air-launched long range, conventionally armed, deep strike weapon” designed to meet the demanding requirements of pre-planned attacks against high value fixed or stationary targets.
The statement adds: “Able to be operated in extreme conditions, the weapon offers operators a highly flexible, deep-strike capability based around a sophisticated mission planning system.”
Storm Shadow has been put into operations with the Royal Air Force and the French Air Force in 2003 and was used in the Gulf, Iraq and Libya.
The weapon is now in service with three other nations giving unrivalled deep strike capability. Storm Shadow is operated from Tornado, Rafale, Mirage 2000 and in the future from Eurofighter Typhoon.
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