Russian soldiers fire at Ukrainian positions from a Russian Giatsint-S self-propelled gun on Wednesday as fighting enters the eighth day of a counter-offensive in which Ukraine says it has penetrated more than 32 kilometers into Russian territory. Britain has made it clear that Ukraine can use weapons it has supplied on Russian soil. Photo courtesy of Russian Defense Ministry/EPA-EFE
Aug. 15 (UPI) – The Ukrainian armed forces are authorized to use British-supplied weapons in their ground offensive against Western Russia, London said on Thursday.
The Defense Ministry said its policy was that Ukraine had the right to use these weapons for self-defense, including on Russian territory, as long as doing so did not violate international law.
However, the exemption did not apply to British-French-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles – a reservation that the new Labour government reiterated a few days after it took office on July 5.
“There has been no change in British government policy. Under Article 51 of the UN Charter, Ukraine has a clear right to self-defence against illegal attacks by Russia, which does not exclude operations inside Russia,” a defence ministry spokesman said.
“We make it clear during the donation process that the equipment must be used in accordance with international law,” he added.
Battles between Russian forces and invading Ukrainian mechanized units advancing into Russia’s Kursk region after crossing the border on August 6 could now be fought with anti-tank missiles, artillery, armored vehicles and other weapons donated by Britain.
The BBC reported that some of the 13 surviving Challenger 2 battle tanks donated to Kiev by Britain were already in use in Ukraine’s ground offensive, which, according to Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, involved the invasion of 35 kilometers into Russian territory and controlled 82 settlements covering an area of 1,114 square kilometers.
Syrsky said a “military command” headed by a senior military leader had been set up to fill a power vacuum in the areas of Russia now occupied by Ukraine.
“To maintain peace and order and meet the immediate needs of the population, a military command has been established in the controlled areas. Major General (Eduard) Moskalyov has been appointed head of this command,” Syrskyi said in a video update of a military staff meeting posted on President Volodymyr Zelensky’s X-account.
“The situation is generally under control,” he told the president.
Moscow claimed the opposite, saying its forces had inflicted significant losses on Ukrainian forces and were gaining the upper hand.
The state news agency TASS reported that the Russian Armed Forces’ Northern Combat Group repelled an attack near Kremyanoye on Wednesday, recaptured the village of Krupets and opened heavy fire on Ukrainian units stationed west of Russkaya.
The report also claimed that the Russian army had blocked attempts by a mobile unit of the armed forces to advance deeper into Russian territory in six other areas, including Varvarovka and Alekseevsky in neighboring Belgorod province, where the governor declared a state of emergency on Wednesday.
The force also struck Ukrainian forces in Olgovka, Snagosti, Pogrebki, Mirny, Zaoleshenka, Uspenovka and Yuzhny, and destroyed a military convoy and 15 tankers in a cross-border attack near Lubny in Sumy province with a tactical short-range ballistic missile.
“Kiev lost up to 340 soldiers and 19 armored vehicles, including five Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and 14 armored fighting vehicles, as well as eight vehicles, five field artillery guns, one multiple rocket launcher and two electronic warfare stations,” the report said.
Britain is Ukraine’s third-largest military supporter after the United States and Germany, contributing $9.76 billion worth of hardware, equipment and munitions in the two-and-a-half years to June 30.
