Ukraine using UK missiles to hit civilian targets in Luhansk: Russia
Russia says Kiev used Britain’s long-range cruise missiles to strike civilian targets in Russian-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine.
Russia's Defense Ministry said on Saturday that Ukrainian aircraft had struck two industrial sites in Luhansk on Friday evening, with Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles supplied by Britain.
It said the missiles had hit a plant producing polymers and a meat-processing factory.
“Storm Shadow air-to-air missiles supplied to the Kiev regime by Great Britain were used for the strike, despite London's declarations that these weapons would not be used against civilian targets," the ministry said in a statement.
"Nearby residential buildings were damaged. Civilians were injured, including six children," it added.
Britain became the first country to say Thursday it had started supplying Kiev with long-range cruise missiles.
Russia had previously warned that if Britain provides these missiles to Ukraine, it should expect “an adequate response from our army."
British Defense Minister Ben Wallace, however, said the missiles could be used within Ukrainian territory. He implied that London had received assurances from Kiev that they would not be used to attack targets inside Russia's internationally accepted borders.
Storm Shadow has a range of “in excess of 250km,” according to its manufacturer, the European arms group MBDA.
That is significantly higher than the high-precision US HIMARS rocket launchers currently used heavily by Ukraine, which rely on missiles with a range of 47 miles.
The British defense minister said the US was “incredibly supportive” of the UK’s decision.
A US official said that “each country makes their own sovereign decisions” about what weapons to give to Ukraine, and stressed that the Biden administration appreciated the contributions made by “more than 50 countries, including the UK” in support of Kiev.
Since the onset of the war in Ukraine in February last year, the West has supplied Ukraine with tens of billions of dollars worth of weapons, including rocket systems, drones, armored vehicles, tanks, and communication systems despite Russia's repeated warnings that the Western military assistance will only prolong the war.
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