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 awesome escalation successful nan astir three-year war.

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

The Ukrainian leader has been pressing his Western friends to let nan usage of nan ATACMS, aliases Army Tactical Missile System, amid subject gains by Russian forces successful caller months. Kyiv has received much than $100bn successful assistance from nan West, including much than $61bn from nan US – nan 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, nan Ukrainian aerial unit said Moscow fired an intercontinental ballistic rocket (ICBM) into its territory. But Moscow has yet to corroborate nan claim.

Where did nan onslaught return place, and does it spell an escalation successful nan 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 nan location of nan onslaught aliases 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 nan sound of an incoming missile.

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

The Reuters news agency reported nan 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 nan rocket successful which nan sanction Storm Shadow was intelligibly visible.

Where did they hit?

Al Jazeera’s Sanad verification agency utilized geolocation to deduce that nan 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 nan aerial alternatively than from nan ground. It is besides called nan SCALP missile.

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

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

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

Why were these deployed now?

The greenish ray to usage nan long-range weapons came aft nan US, Ukraine and South Korea said North Korean troops were deployed successful nan Kursk region. A information of Kursk has been taken complete 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 nan 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 support Ukraine, peculiarly successful nan area of Russia that Ukraine has occupied, Kursk”, according to Al Jazeera’s negotiated analogous James Bays.

How did we get here?

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

Recently, location were indications that Ukraine’s friends would assistance nan restrictions.

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

Has Russia reacted?

Russia’s Defence Ministry said it changeable down 2 Storm Shadow missiles. On Tuesday, nan 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 friends that if they let Ukraine to onslaught wrong Russia pinch nan missiles, it would mean NATO is “at war” pinch Russia.

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

He added that nan threat was a measurement for Putin to transportation retired “information warfare to deter escalation”.

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

On Tuesday, Putin officially lowered nan 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 want to escalate.”

Speaking astatine a news convention during nan Group of 20 (G20) acme successful Brazil, Lavrov accused Washington of helping Kyiv run nan missiles and said: “We will beryllium taking this arsenic a qualitatively caller shape of nan Western warfare against Russia. And we will 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 nan Kyiv aerial force. If confirmed, this onslaught is nan first clip an ICBM has been utilized successful nan war.

An ICBM is tin of delivering a atomic attack.

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

Russia has not commented connected nan attack.

Why are nan UK and US helping Ukraine?

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

He added that nan White House has not provided a coherent mentation for why it is lifting nan restrictions now, but location is speculation.

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