Boris Johnson calls for lifting of ban on Ukraine's use of Storm Shadow missiles in Russia
Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has expressed his support for Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk Oblast and has called on Ukraine’s partners to lift all restrictions on Ukraine using Western-supplied weapons.
Source: Boris Johnson in The Daily Mail, as cited by European Pravda
Details: Johnson said that the last couple of days have been exciting for people who love Ukraine and sincerely want Ukrainians to be free, and described the Ukrainian Kursk offensive as the best news in a long time.
"This lightning dash into the Kursk region reminds us of the key truth about the whole war: that from the beginning we have always underestimated the Ukrainians. We have underestimated their gift of surprise, the way they ruthlessly kept their latest plan a secret.
We have underestimated their boldness – their willingness to do what people have thought impossible," Johnson wrote.
That is why, according to Johnson, it is now time to give Ukrainian forces the tools they really need to finish their job: "and by that I mean the proper permission to use the tools we have already given."
Johnson wrote that when it comes to the UK’s support for Ukraine, it is time for Keir Starmer, the current prime minister, to stop "pussyfooting around".
"The only way to stop the glide bombs is to hit the air bases used by those Russian planes; and the only way to hit those bases is to use the Western kit they already have. The Ukrainians have the ATACMS system from the US, they have bunker-busting Storm Shadow missiles from the UK.
What they do not have is the permissions they need to use those missiles against their tormentors," Johnson wrote, stressing the need to give Ukraine permission to strike military targets in Russia.
Johnson further believes that it is now time for the UK to show its leadership and demonstrate initiative with regard to Storm Shadow, and the majority of its allies will follow its lead.
"Yes, of course it is always better – as Churchill said – to do things in concert with the Americans. But these are UK weapons, paid for by the UK taxpayer, and we should have the guts to decide how they can be used," Johnson wrote.
Background:
- On 17 August, the Times reported that the US was effectively blocking the UK’s authorisation for Ukraine to use Storm Shadow missiles to strike targets in Russia, amid the Biden administration's concerns about escalating the war.
- On 15 August, the UK Defence Ministry confirmed that Ukrainian forces are allowed to use British weapons on Russian territory for self-defence, with one exception: Ukraine cannot use Storm Shadow missiles to strike targets inside Russia.
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