After ATACMS, Ukraine used Storm Shadow missiles to attack Russian territory for the first time

Regarding this issue, according to Reuters news agency, a spokesman for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his office would not comment on reports or military operations.

Previously, Britain had stated that Ukraine could only use the Storm Shadow long-range missile within Ukrainian territory, but for months the British government has been pressuring the United States to allow Ukraine to use this weapon against targets inside the territory of the Russian Federation.

Storm Shadow is a tactical attack missile produced by MBDA, with a range of about 250 km, designed to destroy fortified targets such as arsenals, repair centers and military airports.

Both the UK and France have supplied Storm Shadows to Ukraine. In particular, the UK was the first country to supply long-range missiles to Ukraine, and the first Storm Shadows arrived in Kiev in May 2023.

Ukraine has previously used Storm Shadows missiles for long-range strikes against Russian forces, but only within its territory, including an attack on the Black Sea Fleet in the Crimean Peninsula, an area annexed by the Russian Federation in 2014.

If Bloomberg's information is confirmed, this is the first time the Storm Shadows long-range missile has been used to attack the territory of the Russian Federation and it comes after Ukraine used the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) for the first time to attack the territory of the Russian Federation.

On November 19, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that at 3:25 a.m. the same day, the Ukrainian army attacked the western province of Bryansk of the Russian Federation with 6 long-range ATACMS missiles manufactured in the United States.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the country's S-400 and Pantsir air defense systems shot down five missiles and damaged the sixth. Falling shrapnel caused a fire at the military facility, but the fire was quickly extinguished, causing no casualties or damage.

However, Reuters news agency on November 20 quoted a source from the US saying that Ukraine launched 8 ATACMS missiles and the Russian Federation army only intercepted 2 of them.

Meanwhile, according to The Kyiv Post on November 20, many US media outlets cited anonymous sources saying that US officials confirmed that Ukraine used ATACMS missiles to attack targets in the territory of the Russian Federation on November 19.

“Ukraine has hit a Russian weapons depot with a missile supplied by the United States, the first time this type of weapon has been used in a cross-border attack,” CNN reported, citing two US officials.

Similar reports also appeared on the websites of the independent, nonprofit media organization NPR and The New York Times, but did not provide further details.

Earlier on November 17, Western media, including the New York Times and Reuters news agency, reported that US President Joe Biden had changed policy, allowing Ukraine to use US-made weapons to attack deep into Russian territory.

On November 18, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell confirmed that the US had allowed Ukraine to attack military targets deep inside the territory of the Russian Federation.

“The Biden administration has authorized the use of its weapons within a range of up to 300 kilometers inside the territory of the Russian Federation,” Mr. Borrell said.

“The US administration refused for a long time, but finally agreed,” the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy added.

Then, on November 19, in an interview with Brazil's O Globo, US Assistant Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere, Brian Nichols, appeared to confirm the Biden administration's decision, saying that Ukraine's use of long-range missiles could force the Russian Federation to come to the peace negotiating table.