Britain wants to send better missiles to Ukraine

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“We need long-range missiles and fighter jets,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, 45, has repeatedly said in the past. In view of the imminent counter-offensive, these demands are getting louder. Because: Infantry and tanks in the front can be better protected by missiles with a longer range. Britain is now the first country to show willingness to do so.

On May 2, the British-led International Fund for Ukraine (IFU) was exploring ways to deliver longer-range missiles, The Washington Post writes. The British Ministry of Defense is investigating its own possibilities for supplying missiles. For example, “Storm Shadow” missiles, which have a range of about 300 kilometers. That’s not enough from Kiev to Moscow (756.25 kilometers as the crow flies), but the Storm Shadows would change fate on the battlefield. And they could allow Ukraine to recapture Crimea.

“If we could strike up to 300 kilometers away, the Russian army would not be able to defend itself and would have to capitulate,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, 56, told the EU at the beginning of this year. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (42) made it clear in February: “If the weapons weaken the Russian armed forces, it will increase our security.”

Britain was already a pioneer of tanks

Should the UK actually send longer-range missiles to Ukraine, the country will turn against the US. US President Joe Biden (80) has repeatedly expressed concern in the past that Ukraine could use US missiles against targets on Russian territory. Reznikov assured him: “Ukraine is ready to give all guarantees that your weapons will not be used for attacks on Russian territory.” But that hasn’t convinced the US yet.

The Pentagon has already delivered missiles with a range of 80 kilometers and announced another weapons package with a range of 160 kilometers. While Britain has not supplied as many arms as the US, it has pioneered the supply of tanks. If approved and Britain provides Storm Shadow missiles, it could motivate Ukraine’s other allies to provide more weapons as well. The final decision has not yet been made. (jwg)

Source: Blick