UK has not yet agreed on Ukraine using Storm Shadow missiles on Russian territory

The UK government has stated that it has not yet given Ukraine authorisation to fire Storm Shadow missiles against targets on Russian territory, despite statements by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy leading many to believe otherwise.

Source: The Telegraph, as reported by European Pravda

Details: On Thursday, Downing Street stated that the government's attitude on Ukraine's deployment of UK-provided long-range weaponry "had not changed", notwithstanding Prime Minister Keir Starmer's statement that the use of Storm Shadow missiles is up to Ukraine. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later stated that he "had been granted permission to use strategic cruise missiles in Russia" and that he discussed this with Starmer during their initial meeting.

Sources told reporters that this year Storm Shadow has not yet been deployed.

One of the sources stated that the issue is "more nuanced" than it appears and that using these cruise missiles against targets in Russia will require the coordinated approval of three countries, one of which is the United Kingdom.

The second country is certainly France, which co-produces these missiles, and the third is most likely the United States. Zelenskyy has previously stated publicly that the UK is maintaining constraints on the employment of the cruise missiles it has donated, specifically because of the US position.

On the subject of whether Ukraine will begin to employ Storm Shadow on Russian territory, the source stated that "it's not going to happen", but it is unclear whether he meant the immediate future, the need for coordination among allies or the long term.

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