Ukraine asks the UK for help in its bid to use long-range missiles inside Russia
Ukraine has asked the UK for help and support in using long-range missiles to hit targets inside Russian territory as the Foreign Secretary visited Kyiv.
David Lammy joined his US counterpart Antony Blinken for a joint visit to the Ukrainian capital to show support for Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly pushed for permission to use Western missiles to strike at targets within Vladimir Putin's Russia.
Now, US president Joe Biden and Sir Keir Starmer look set to discuss the issue further in Washington on Friday.
Denys Shmyhal, Ukraine's prime minister, said at the start of a meeting with Mr Lammy that Kyiv hopes the ability to hit targets in Russia "will be reached".
"And we hope for your help and support in this issue," he said.
However, when asked, Mr Lammy did not confirm the UK would give Ukraine permission to use UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles in Russia.
"It would, however, be quite wrong to comment on the detail of operational issues in a forum such as this, because the only person who could benefit is Putin, and we will do nothing to give him any advantage in his illegal invasion," he said.
Storm Shadow missiles are precision-guided cruise missiles that can be used against ground targets.
They are particularly effective against large static targets such as bunkers, with a range in excess of 155 miles and a top speed of 621mph.
In an opinion piece for BFBS Forces News, ex-Army officer and defence analyst Hamish de Bretton-Gordon argues the West should ignore Moscow and go all-in with its support for Ukraine.
"It is clear that the US is less concerned with Putin's red lines, most especially with 3,000 miles of Atlantic Ocean in between," Mr de Bretton-Gordon said.
"The US is well out of range of Russian tactical nukes – and, in fact, so are the British Isles, with most weapon ranges being around 400 miles.
"So why such angst in London when foreign minister Lavrov and ex-premier Medvedev threaten us with attack?
"Most immediately the UK must take the shackles off Ukraine and allow all our weapons to be used to strike targets in Russia."
Downing Street said there was "no change" in its position on the use of Storm Shadow missiles in Russia but added that the Government always listened to Ukrainian concerns.
"Our position hasn't changed, but we will always continue to listen to Ukrainians," said a spokeswoman.
"That's what we're doing in Ukraine today, and the Prime Minister and the president will be discussing our support and how we can best support Ukraine at this critical juncture as we head into the winter.
"But I'm not going to get into specifics of operational discussions and the details of that, not least because that would benefit Putin."
Mr Lammy and Mr Blinken arrived in Kyiv after taking an overnight train from eastern Poland to get to the Ukrainian capital at 11:45 local time.
Mr Blinken travelled from London, where he accused Iran of providing Russia with Fath-360 short-range ballistic missiles, calling the move a "dramatic escalation" of the war.
Mr Lammy also announced sanctions on 10 ships operating as part of a "shadow fleet" seeking to evade the embargo on Russian oil.
The vessels, described as "high-volume offenders", will now be barred from entering UK ports and refused access to the UK Ship Register.
Related topics
Join Our Newsletter
