Russia says Ukraine planning to strike Crimea with US, UK missiles
Russia says it has obtained information that Ukraine is planning to strike Crimea with longer-range American and British missiles.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Tuesday warned Washington and London that they “would be fully dragged into the conflict” with Russia if they allowed Ukraine to use their weapons.
Shoigu said that Moscow has information that Kiev planned to use US-supplied HIMARS long-range rocket systems and British-supplied Storm Shadow cruise missiles to strike Crimea.
"The use of these missiles outside the zone of our special military operation would mean that the United States and Britain would be fully dragged into the conflict and would entail immediate strikes on decision-making centers in Ukraine," said Shoigu.
Britain’s Storm Shadow missile 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.
Kiev has formerly used Storm Shadow to strike Russian supply depots and command posts deep behind the frontline in Russian-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine.
Russia also said last month that Ukraine used Storm Shadow missiles to strike civilian targets in the territory.
It has constantly warned the West against providing Ukraine with longer-range missiles, saying the move will escalate the war.
The West, however, kept providing Ukraine with military equipment worth tens of billions of dollars since Russia began its military campaign in Ukraine in February last year.
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