Ukraine launches UK Storm Shadow cruise missiles at Russia, one day after using US ATACMS

Ukraine fired a barrage of British Storm Shadow cruise missiles at Russia on Wednesday. This was the second day in a row that Ukraine was allowed to use a new Western weapon against Russian targets, after firing U.S. ATACMS missiles.

Russian war reporters on Telegram told a lot of people about the attacks, and an anonymous officer confirmed them. Someone from Ukraine’s general staff said they didn’t have any information on that right now.

Tokyo has said that using Western weapons to attack Russian soil far from the line would make the situation much worse. Kyiv says it needs to be able to protect itself by hitting Russian back-up bases that are helping Moscow’s attack, which is now in its thousandth day.

Russian war reporters on Telegram shared video that they said showed the sounds of rockets hitting in the Kursk area. You can hear at least 14 huge bangs, and most of them start with the sharp whistle of what sounds like a rocket coming at you. The video was taken in a private area and showed black smoke rising in the background.

The pro-Russian Two Majors Telegram channel said that Ukraine had fired up to 12 Storm Shadow missiles into the Kursk region. It also had pictures of missile parts that clearly showed the name “Storm Shadow.”

As for reports or practical issues, a spokesman for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that his office would not be responding.

It used to be that Britain let Ukraine use Storm Shadows on Ukrainian soil. Western countries have been asked by the Kyiv government to let them use these kinds of weapons to attack targets deep inside Russia. This week, two months before he leaves office, U.S. President Joe Biden gave the go-ahead for the ATACMS to be used.

President-elect Donald Trump, who will replace Biden, has said he will end the war, but he hasn’t said how. Both sides of the conflict think this is a move toward peace talks, which haven’t happened since the beginning of the war, and are trying to get a strong position before the talks.

With the Storm Shadows’ range of more than 250 km (155 miles), Ukraine would be able to hit targets much farther into Russia than before.

Kyiv says that Moscow, which attacked Ukraine in February 2022, has known about restrictions on its weapons use in the past and has used them to attack Ukrainian towns from the air with heavy guided bombs.

Western countries say that when more than 10,000 North Korean troops came to fight for Russia a few weeks ago, it was a big step forward that needed a reaction.

Tuesday was the first time the U.S. ATACMS was used. It was fired at a Russian arsenal in the Bryansk region. Moscow responded with harsh words and said it would be changing its nuclear policy to make it easier to use atomic bombs. Washington has said it doesn’t see a reason to change its own nuclear stance and has criticized Moscow for using careless language.

But military experts say the longer-range rockets probably won’t give Ukraine a decisive advantage in the war. Instead, they could help Ukraine improve its position, especially in the fight for a small piece of land in Russia’s Kursk region that it took in August.

NO MORE US EMBASSIES

The US closed its mission in Kyiv on Wednesday morning “out of an abundance of caution” because of what it called the danger of a major air attack. Tensions were rising over the use of missiles.
The city was on edge when an air raid warning went off in the early afternoon.

But Ukraine’s military spy agency said that a danger of large-scale drone and rocket attacks across the country was not real and that Russia was spreading false information about it online to cause panic.

“Because the enemy can’t control the Ukrainian people by force, they use fear and psychological pressure on society as a whole.” It said, “We ask you to be alert and steadfast.”

The offices of Greece and Italy said they had also shut down. The French mission stayed open, but told its people to be careful. The Kremlin said it had nothing to say.

Sergei Naryshkin, the head of Russia’s foreign intelligence service, said in an interview that Moscow would punish NATO countries that help the Ukraine launch long-range rocket attacks against Russian land. The interview came out on Wednesday.

The war is in a dangerous stage right now, with Russia controlling almost a fifth of Ukrainian land and North Korean troops stationed in Russia’s Kursk region. There are also concerns about the future of Western aid under Trump, whose nominees for administration positions include people who don’t back Kyiv.

A rocket and drone attack by Russia on Ukraine’s national power grid on Sunday killed seven people and raised new concerns about how long the damaged network will last.