According to several reports, Britain wants to allow Ukraine to deploy its Storm Shadow missiles on Russian soil, but is refusing to grant Kyiv permission over fears that the United States will not support the proposal.
The Telegraph and the Financial Times reported on Tuesday that London government officials had secretly asked the US for the green light for this summer.
Both The Telegraph and the FT reported that the US would have a say in the decision, as Ukraine’s Storm Shadow attacks are likely to rely on American capabilities.
The FT wrote, citing an anonymous source familiar with the discussions, that the missiles needed US intelligence and reconnaissance data to bypass Russian GPS jamming.
The Telegraph mentioned that the missiles work in tandem with unspecified “secret US systems.”
The new considerations also come at a time when the British Labour Party replaced the Tory government in June, which had aggressively pushed for the West to supply Ukraine with more modern vehicles, munitions and aircraft.
But British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is taking a more “consultative approach” toward the United States, which has often lagged behind its European allies in supplying Ukraine with more powerful weapons, according to The Telegraph.
US officials have long expressed fears of an escalation with Russia over the delivery of devastating long-range munitions to Kyiv.
The Pentagon and the defense ministries of Britain and Ukraine did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s requests for comment, sent outside regular business hours.
Storm Shadow missiles, which are launched from the air and have a range of around 250 kilometers, are considered one of Ukraine’s most effective weapons of war.
“Its accuracy and ability to successfully deliver the payload sent and developed by the Ukrainians was almost flawless,” then-British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said in June.
Russia, meanwhile, is downplaying the missile’s impact on the battlefield. President Vladimir Putin said the missile did not cause “critical” damage.
Britain allowed Ukraine to attack Russian ships and naval facilities in Crimea with Storm Shadow missiles in 2023, one of the first major Western approvals of deep strikes.
Washington then sent its long-range ATACMS missiles to Kiev, but has so far prohibited Ukraine from launching its state-of-the-art weapons into Russian territory.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this week called on the United States and Britain to lift the ban, saying it had become a serious handicap as Russia bombards Ukraine with drones and bombs.
“The United States, the United Kingdom, France and other partners have the power to help us stop terrorism. We need decisions,” he said.
France, which also supplies Ukraine with Storm Shadow missiles, supports Kiev’s plans to penetrate deep into Russian territory.
“We actually tell them that we are supplying you with weapons, but you cannot defend yourselves,” French President Emmanuel Macron criticized the situation in May.
