The UK has refused to comment on reports that Ukraine has used Storm Shadow cruise missiles against targets in Russia, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
A spokesman for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that his office would not comment on reports or operational information. Ukraine has also not commented on the media reports for the time being.
Earlier, Bloomberg reported that Ukraine had fired British Storm Shadow cruise missiles at Russian territory for the first time, citing an anonymous Western official. The British newspaper The Telegraph reported that residents of the village of Marino in Russia's Kursk region had found fragments of a "Storm Shadow" missile.
The UK has previously said that Ukraine could use cruise missiles inside Ukrainian territory. The strikes were also reported by Russian military correspondents on the Telegram app. They were confirmed to Reuters by an anonymous official.
Moscow has previously said that using Western weapons to strike Russian territory far from the border would be a major escalation in the conflict. Kiev has said it needs this to defend itself by striking Russian military bases in the rear.
Russian military correspondents have published videos in which they claim to hear the missiles strike. At least 14 large explosions were heard on them, Reuters reported.
The Russian channel on the “Telegram“ “Two Majors“ claimed that Ukraine had fired up to 12 “Storm Shadow“ cruise missiles in the Kursk region. It published photos of the remains of a missile, on which the name “Storm Shadow“ is clearly visible, Reuters reported.
The cruise missiles have a range of 250 km and would give Ukraine the ability to bomb military targets deep inside Russian territory. For several months, the government in Kiev has been trying to obtain permission from the United States to carry out strikes on military targets on Russian territory.
The first use of US ATAKMS missiles against a Russian ammunition depot in the Bryansk region was criticized by Moscow. Russia has announced that it is updating its nuclear doctrine to lower the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons.
Washington has said it sees no need to change its own nuclear policy and has accused Moscow of resorting to irresponsible rhetoric. Military analysts say that the longer-range missiles are unlikely to give Ukraine a decisive advantage in the war, but could help it strengthen its position, especially in the battle in Russia's Kursk region.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office did not comment on the reports in the British media, including the “Financial Times“ and “The Guardian“. In the House of Commons, Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge raised a point of order and asked whether ministers were expected to make a statement on the reports, PA Media and DPA reported.
Earlier, Defence Secretary John Healy told MPs that he had spoken to his counterpart in Kiev yesterday, where they discussed Britain's plan to support Ukraine. "In recent weeks we have seen a significant shift in the actions and rhetoric regarding Ukraine, and Ukraine's actions on the battlefield speak for themselves," Healy told the House of Commons today.