CNN: UK donates Storm Shadow cruise missiles to Ukraine

14:01 11 May Kyiv, Ukraine

The UK has handed over Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine ahead of an expected counteroffensive, CNN reported, citing several Western officials.

One of the channel's sources noted that Britain received assurances from the Ukrainian government that these missiles would only be used within the sovereign territory of Ukraine, and not the territory of Russia.. British officials have often made public statements calling Crimea a sovereign territory of Ukraine, describing it as "illegally annexed," CNN notes.
The Storm Shadow missile is "a real game-changer in terms of range," a US military official said.. He noted that the rocket gives Kyiv the opportunities that he has been asking for since the beginning of the war.
CNN notes that this is not the first time that Britain has gone further than the United States in weapons that it is ready to send to Ukraine. London was the first ally to announce it was sending modern Western tanks to Ukraine, pledging in January to deliver 14 Challenger 2 tanks, before the US announced it would provide M-1 Abrams tanks soon after.
 

The Storm Shadow is a long-range stealth cruise missile jointly developed by the UK and France that is typically air-launched. With a range of more than 250 km. That's just short of the 185-mile capability of the U.S.-made Army Tactical Surface-to-Ground Missile Systems (ATACMS), which Ukraine has long requested.