Ukraine has reportedly fired British-French-made Storm Shadow missiles at targets inside Russia for the first time, according to a Russian military blog and Reuters. This action occurred just one day after Ukraine launched U.S.-made ATACMS missiles into Russian territory.
An official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the use of the Storm Shadow missiles to Reuters, while British media have also reported the development. However, Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov did not confirm or deny the deployment during a news conference, stating, “We are using all the means to defend our country, so we won’t go into detail. But we are capable and able to respond.”
Umerov remarked, “We’ll be defending and giving punches back… with all the means available.” A Russian military blogger shared images on Telegram of a Storm Shadow missile fragment, claiming that up to 12 missiles were launched at the Kursk region, with the fragment found in the village of Marino, approximately 35 miles from the Ukrainian border.
Weapons expert Trevor Ball identified the fragment as a Storm Shadow missile after reviewing the images, although CNN could not verify the timing of the photo’s capture. Additionally, a verified video showed explosions near Marino on the same day, with experts suggesting they were likely caused by missile strikes, though attribution to the Storm Shadow missiles could not be definitively confirmed.
The UK and France had previously supplied long-range Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine for operations within its own borders. With an approximate range of 250 kilometers (155 miles), they are slightly less capable than the American ATACMS, which can reach around 300 kilometers.
BBC correspondent Paul Adams noted that Ukraine has so far targeted the Kursk region and emphasized that Storm Shadow is powerful enough to penetrate bunkers with high accuracy.
The missile launch comes shortly after two U.S. officials confirmed that Ukraine had used ATACMS missiles against a Russian weapons depot for the first time, targeting a facility near Bryansk, north of Kursk. The Biden administration had approved the use of these longer-range weapons for Ukrainian strikes on Russian soil over the weekend.
According to the U.S. defense officials, Ukraine successfully hit the ammunition depot with eight missiles, causing extensive damage and several secondary explosions. Russian claims that no casualties or damage occurred contradict this assessment, with the Russian Ministry of Defense stating that it intercepted several of the ATACMS fired.
Ukrainian forces have yet to confirm or deny their use of the U.S. missiles. President Volodymyr Zelensky previously stated, “Ukraine has long-range capabilities… We will use all of this.”
Credit: CNN
