London has announced the delivery to Ukraine of missiles capable of hitting Russian territory

The United States has been reluctant to supply Ukraine with long-range missiles, fearing that they would be used against Russian territory and could escalate the conflict. But this red line will be crossed by the United Kingdom, the first allied country to decide to send this type of weapon to the Kiev army.

This was announced on Thursday British Defense Minister Ben Wallace, in statements to the public channel of the BBC just as the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, pointed out to the same media that he will have to postpone the counter-offensive until the necessary Western weapons arrive that guarantee success without too many casualties. It is, as Wallace explained, Storm Shadow cruise missileswhose the range exceeds 250 kilometersthree times more than the American Himars Ukraine currently has in its arsenal.

The British minister said he hoped the Storm Shadow, whose superiority, he stressed, meant they were “not in the same league” with Russian weapons, would enable Kiev to “reclaim the sovereign territory of Ukraine” in the face of “Russian weapons”. brutality” towards civilians. In his opinion, Russia has “stepped down a dark path”.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov responded to Wallace’s words, describing the news as “very negative,” according to Efe, and warned that Russia will “give an adequate response” to the decision to equip Ukraine with these powerful missiles.

Tested in Iraq and Libya

The Storm Shadow is a stealthy, high-precision air-launched cruise missile. It is designed, due to its enormous destructive power on the surface and deep penetration, to attack large buildings and structures such as ports, command centers, bunkers, missile launch bases, airfields, underground ammunition storage and large bridges.

Its use makes it possible to avoid deploying a large number of aircraft in multiple missions, achieving the same results with much less fire. It is currently in service with the Royal Air Force, as well as the French and Italian Air Forces. It has previously proven its effectiveness in operations in Iraq and Libya.

Zelenski says he needs more time to counterattack, and Wagner denies this

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted Thursday that his country needs more time to launch a counteroffensive against Russian forces, while the Kremlin acknowledged major difficulties on the front. “WITH [lo que ya tenemos] we can go ahead and, I think, be successful, but we would lose a lot of people. I think that is unacceptable. So we have to wait. We need a little more time,” said the Ukrainian president in an interview with Western media collected by Efe.

Zelensky stressed that Ukrainian forces, some of them trained by NATO, are “ready” but still need “some things”, including armor, as Russia has strengthened its defenses from the Luhansk and Donetsk regions to Zaporozhye and Kherson. , To the south.

Ukrainian “impostor”

However, the head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, described the Ukrainian president’s statements as a “trick.” “This is Zelenski’s fraud. The counter-offensive is already in full swing,” the businessman said in an audio recording on Telegram. Prigozhin asserted that all Ukrainian units trained in the West have already received everything they need, “and are actually already participating in the counter-offensive.”

Meanwhile, the Kremlin has admitted that its military campaign is “very difficult” and that it is far from achieving all the goals set by President Vladimir Putin. “The special military operation continues. It is a very difficult operation and, of course, certain goals have been achieved in a year,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov told Bosnian television, recalling that Putin issued an order to guarantee the “security” of Donbas residents first, something that was only “partially” achieved.In addition, he expressed confidence that Russian forces would finally capture Bakhmut.