US and UK may secretly allow Ukraine to use Storm Shadow missiles to strike Russia – The Times

The Times writes that the United States and the United Kingdom are likely to give Ukraine permission to use Storm Shadow missiles to strike Russian territory, but this decision may remain a secret to preserve the factor of surprise for the Russian side.

Source: European Pravda citing The Times

Details: The publication states that the UK and the US have been discussing the possibility of allowing Ukraine to strike Russia with Storm Shadow missiles for a long time.

It was expected that this decision could be announced during a joint visit of the top foreign officials of both countries, Antony Blinken and David Lammy, to Kyiv last Wednesday.

The two sides prepared two versions of the final statements and, due to unresolved details, announced the one that referred to further discussions on allowing Ukraine to conduct long-range strikes.

Among other things, The Times reports that the US is refraining from approving the permit until it sees the victory plan that Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants to present to Joe Biden during a meeting next week.

Instead, the publication says that the UK wants to create the impression that such a step comes from more NATO allies and has organised a meeting of the foreign ministers of the US, the UK, France, Germany and Italy in Paris.

But one source suggested that the US is more focused on building Biden's legacy and wants to speed up the decision.

The Times stated that the authorization to strike Russia with Storm Shadow missiles could be approved as early as next week and will be kept private in order to avoid giving Russia additional warning of a possible attack.

Background:

• Ukraine is seeking to use long-range missiles to hit Russian air bases and military facilities used to attack Ukrainian cities. Media have previously reported that the UK does not want to act on this issue without US approval.
• NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg supported the authorisation of Ukraine's long-range strikes, sceptical of the "red lines" set by Vladimir Putin.

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