Ukraine fires UK-made Storm Shadow missiles at Russia: What we know

Ukraine has fired UK-made Storm Shadow missiles into Russia a time aft launching long-range American ATACMS missiles, raising fears of a large escalation successful the astir three-year war.

Ukraine’s authorities has yet to corroborate the strikes connected Tuesday and Wednesday, which travel days aft United States President Joe Biden’s medication reportedly removed the restrictions connected the usage of the long-range, US-made weapons aft lobbying by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The Ukrainian person has been pressing his Western allies to let the usage of the ATACMS, oregon Army Tactical Missile System, amid subject gains by Russian forces successful caller months. Kyiv has received much than $100bn successful assistance from the West, including much than $61bn from the US – the largest root of subject assistance to Ukraine.

Russia has warned that Ukraine’s usage of long-range missiles to onslaught wrong Russian territory could result successful an escalation. On Thursday, the Ukrainian aerial unit said Moscow fired an intercontinental ballistic rocket (ICBM) into its territory. But Moscow has yet to corroborate the claim.

Where did the onslaught instrumentality place, and does it spell an escalation successful the war?

What happened?

“Two Storm Shadow cruise missiles, six HIMARS [High Mobility Artillery Rocket System] rockets, and 67 unmanned aerial vehicles were neutralised by aerial defence systems,” Russia’s Ministry of Defence said successful a connection connected Thursday without sharing the determination of the onslaught oregon accusation astir immoderate harm caused.

Russian warfare analogous accounts posted videos connected Telegram successful which astatine slightest 14 explosions tin beryllium heard. Most of these explosions were preceded by a crisp whistle resembling the dependable of an incoming missile.

The videos amusement a plume of achromatic fume rising supra what appears to beryllium a residential area.

The Reuters quality bureau reported the pro-Russian Two Majors transmission posted connected Telegram that Ukraine fired up to 12 Storm Shadow missiles into Russia’s Kursk region, which lies connected Ukraine’s border. The transmission carried pictures of pieces of the rocket successful which the sanction Storm Shadow was intelligibly visible.

Where did they hit?

Al Jazeera’s Sanad verification bureau utilized geolocation to deduce that the onslaught took spot connected Maryino, a colony successful Kursk.

What are Storm Shadow missiles?

The Storm Shadow rocket is an Anglo-French, long-range cruise missile. It is launched from subject craft successful the aerial alternatively than from the ground. It is besides called the SCALP missile.

The missiles are manufactured by the United Kingdom and produced utilizing components from the US. They tin deed targets up to 250km (155 miles) away.

Each rocket costs astir $1m. In May 2023, the UK confirmed that it had sent Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine connected the information that Ukraine usage them lone successful its ain territory against Russian forces. Western countries person backed Ukraine since Russia invaded its neighbour successful February 2022.

According to Ukrainian media, the Storm Shadow has antecedently been utilized successful Russia-annexed Crimea. However, this is the archetypal clip Ukraine has utilized these weapons wrong Russian territory.

Why were these deployed now?

The greenish airy to usage the long-range weapons came aft the US, Ukraine and South Korea said North Korean troops were deployed successful the Kursk region. A information of Kursk has been taken implicit by Ukrainian forces during an incursion that began successful August.

Washington, Kyiv and Seoul said 12,000 North Korean soldiers person been sent to Russia. Additionally, they person accused Pyongyang of supplying weapons to Moscow. Moscow and Pyongyang person not officially confirmed the subject deployment. The 2 countries signed a communal defence pact successful June during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s authorities sojourn to North Korea.

The “aim of these Western nations is to enactment Ukraine, peculiarly successful the country of Russia that Ukraine has occupied, Kursk”, according to Al Jazeera’s diplomatic analogous James Bays.

How did we get here?

The US secretly sent long-range missiles to Ukraine successful March 2023 and imposed the aforesaid conditions connected their usage arsenic the UK did connected the Storm Shadows.

Recently, determination were indications that Ukraine’s allies would assistance the restrictions.

In September, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his UK counterpart, Foreign Secretary David Lammy, visited Kyiv and met Zelenskyy. When thanking the officials for visiting him, Zelenskyy posted connected his X account: “It is important that Ukrainian arguments are heard. This includes the long-range weapons.”

Has Russia reacted?

Russia’s Defence Ministry said it changeable down 2 Storm Shadow missiles. On Tuesday, the ministry said Ukraine fired US-made ATACMS successful Russia’s Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine and Kursk.

The Russian president has warned Ukraine’s Western allies that if they let Ukraine to onslaught wrong Russia with the missiles, it would mean NATO is “at war” with Russia.

When asked if the lifting of restrictions means NATO has entered the war, Keir Giles, a elder consulting chap astatine the London-based Chatham House deliberation tank, told Al Jazeera: “No, perfectly not. NATO is not enactment to this conflict.”

He added that the menace was a mode for Putin to transportation retired “information warfare to deter escalation”.

Tensions person escalated this week arsenic the 1,000th day of the warfare passed.

On Tuesday, Putin officially lowered the threshold of atomic weapons usage for Russia. These changes were first announced successful September.

Regarding Tuesday’s ATACMS attack, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said: “This is, of course, a awesome that they privation to escalate.”

Speaking astatine a quality league during the Group of 20 (G20) acme successful Brazil, Lavrov accused Washington of helping Kyiv run the missiles and said: “We volition beryllium taking this arsenic a qualitatively caller signifier of the Western warfare against Russia. And we volition respond accordingly.” He did not spell further into detail.

Russia launches ICBM

On Thursday, Russia launched an intercontinental ballistic missile, hitting enterprises and captious infrastructure successful Ukraine’s east-central metropolis of Dnipro, according to the Kyiv aerial force. If confirmed, this onslaught is the archetypal clip an ICBM has been utilized successful the war.

An ICBM is susceptible of delivering a atomic attack.

Ukraine’s Ukrainska Pravda online paper quoted anonymous sources arsenic saying the rocket fired was the RS-26 Rubezh. The RS-26 has a scope of 5,800km (3,604 miles), according to the Arms Control Association.

Russia has not commented connected the attack.

Why are the UK and US helping Ukraine?

Giles, who is besides the writer of an upcoming book, Who Will Defend Europe?, said the UK and France person been “wanting to assistance the restrictions connected the usage of the weapons but were held backmost by the US”.

He added that the White House has not provided a coherent mentation for wherefore it is lifting the restrictions now, but determination is speculation.

Biden has fixed Ukraine the greenish airy 2 months earlier Republican President-elect Donald Trump is sworn into office. Trump has promised to extremity the war, which has raised concerns astir whether the US volition chopped backmost its subject support.