Downing Street has refused to be drawn on whether the government will grant permission for Ukraine to use British long-range missiles to strike at Russia following reports that the United States has shifted its policy.
The UK government has so far refused to grant Ukraine permission to use British-supplied Storm Shadow long-range missiles without a shift in U.S. policy, in part because the weapons use American navigation data.
The decision from the White House could see long-range missiles used initially in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops have launched an incursion into Russian territory, with President Vladimir Putin bolstering his county’s defences with troops from North Korea.
‘Decisive Move’
Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge said he hoped the UK would follow the U.S. lead in granting permission to use Storm Shadow missiles to hit targets in Russia.“We welcome this decisive move from the U.S.,” he said. “It must now surely lead to [Prime Minister Sir Keir] Starmer giving Ukraine full autonomy on use of UK Storm Shadow missiles.”
Zelenskyy said over the weekend that “long-range capabilities” were a key part of his “victory plan” in the ongoing war with Russia.
“There’s been much said in the media today that we have received approval to take relative actions,” he said.
Kremlin Warning
But the Kremlin warned the move by the United States would change the nature of Western involvement in the conflict.According to Russia’s Tass news agency, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “If such a decision has indeed been formulated and communicated to the Kyiv regime, then, of course, this is a qualitatively new round of escalation of tensions and a qualitatively new situation in terms of the involvement of the United States in this conflict.”
Starmer said, “We need to double down” on support for Ukraine, and the issue was at the “top” of his agenda at this week’s G20 summit of world leaders in Brazil.
Biden will be at the gathering, while Russia will be represented by foreign minister Sergei Lavrov in the absence of Putin.
The change in direction from the White House comes as Kyiv and Western allies prepare for a possible change in U.S stance with the return of President-elect Donald Trump, who has said he is not in favour of the U.S. taxpayer continuing to fund the conflict.
Trump enjoyed cordial relations with Putin during his first term in office, and has said he could end the conflict between Ukraine and Russia in “a day.”
‘Full Support’
Starmer told reporters travelling with him to Rio de Janeiro: “We are coming up to the 1,000th day of this conflict on Tuesday.“That’s 1,000 days of Russian aggression, 1,000 days of huge impact and sacrifice in relation to the Ukrainian people, and recently we’ve seen the addition of North Korean troops working with Russians which does have serious implications.
“I think on one hand it shows the desperation of Russia, but it’s got serious implications for European security … and for Indo-Pacific security, and that’s why I think we need to double down on shoring up our support for Ukraine and that’s top of my agenda for the G20.
“There’s got to be full support as long as it takes and that certainly is top of my agenda, shoring up that further support for Ukraine.”
Last week, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke to Putin in what was the Russian leader’s first publicly announced conversation with the sitting head of a major Western power in nearly two years.
Starmer appeared to rule out diplomatic negotiations directly with the Russian leader, telling reporters: “It’s a matter for Chancellor Scholz who he speaks to. I have no plans to speak to Putin.”
The Russia-Ukraine conflict began in 2014 when Moscow annexed the Crimean part of Ukraine and supported pro-Russian separatists fighting the Ukrainian military in the Donbas War.
‘Double Down’
On Monday, Defence Secretary John Healey told the House of Commons the UK is working in “close cooperation” with the United States.He told MPs: “I will not compromise operational security and comment on the details of long-range systems today.
“The prime minister has been clear … that we must double down on the support for Ukraine, give Ukraine the support that it needs, and do so for as long as it takes.
“In doing so we will continue our close cooperation with the U.S. and allies in providing that support to Ukraine.”
He dismissed suggestions from the Kremlin that using Western-supplied missiles to hit targets in Russia would escalate the conflict.
“The one person responsible for escalation in this conflict is President Putin, the one side that has been escalating in recent months is Russia,” he said.
Defence minister Maria Eagle also hinted at a shift, telling MPs, “We intend to align with our allies in making sure that Ukraine can make use of the capabilities that’s been offered by those who have committed support to that country in its fight.”
Downing Street said the government wanted to put Ukraine in the “strongest possible position going into the winter to defend its sovereign territory.”
A Number 10 spokeswoman said support for Ukraine was “ironclad” but “we won’t get into speculation or a commentary on operational discussions.”
“It also remains the case that no war was ever won with one single piece of kit,” she said.
A Ministry of Defence intelligence assessment underlined the scale of losses reportedly being suffered by the Russians, with 1,498 casualties a day on average in the first 12 days of November, an increase on the most costly month of the war in October when the daily total was 1,354.
“Russia will highly likely continue to experience high casualty rates over the remainder of the year with continued dismounted infantry attacks on multiple axes throughout the winter,” the assessment said.
