Were they British missiles?: Far behind the front – cruise missiles hit occupied Luhansk

Was it British missiles?
Far behind the front – cruise missiles hit occupied Luhansk

05/12/2023, 10:35 p.m

Two rockets hit the Russian-occupied regional capital of Luhansk. Observers suspect that the missiles could be British Storm Shadow cruise missiles. Because the city is around 100 kilometers from the front line.

Representatives of the Russian-installed government in the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine have accused the Ukrainian military of using two missiles to attack an industrial complex about 100 kilometers behind the front line. Videos distributed on the Internet show clouds of black smoke over parts of Luhansk, the capital of the region of the same name.

So far, western Ukraine has supplied only short-range missiles. Observers speculate that the Ukrainians may have used long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles supplied by Britain for the first time. The air-launched missiles, jointly developed by Great Britain and France, have a range of more than 250 kilometers, according to the manufacturer. This will allow them to reach destinations on the Crimean Peninsula in Ukraine, which was annexed by Russia. The US-type HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, successfully used by Ukraine, can hit targets 80 kilometers away. This makes it unlikely that the HIMARS system was used.

Britain confirmed delivery of the missiles to Ukraine on Thursday. This gives Ukraine the best chance of defense, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said in Parliament. “We help the Ukrainians to defend their homeland.” The missiles enabled Ukraine to push back Russian forces from its territory, Wallace said.

“I believe this is a considered and appropriate response to the Russian escalations.” Britain will not stand by while Russia kills civilians. Wallace did not say whether Ukraine has already received the weapons. The US broadcaster CNN had previously reported that Britain had already delivered several missiles.