Russia-Ukraine War | The United Kingdom delivers to Ukraine the long-range missile that can decide the counteroffensive

2023-05-11 13:47:44

The UK has handed over to the Ukrainian Armed Forces a still unknown number of units of the Storm Shadow long-range missile, according to CNN. Sources cited by the North American media affirm that the British Ministry of Defense would have made the long-awaited projectile available for the expected counteroffensive led by President Volodímir Zelenski.

This missile, developed by the United Kingdom and France, has a range of about 300 kilometers and it is normally used from airplanes, but it is also prepared to be used from ships or submarines. With its autonomy it could reach targets inside the Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory of Donbas, Zaporizhia or Kherson. According to the North American media, London has obtained a commitment from the Ukrainian authorities that it will not be used to punish positions within the Russian borders.

Storm Shadow is a cruise missile which saw the light of day for the first time in 1994. It can house a 450-kilogram warhead with which to reach distant strategic objectives, such as communications and command centers, airports, ports and power stations as well as ammunition silos or bridges.

This new weapon can be a change in the balance of war, according to experts consulted by CNN, and satisfies the demands for long-range missiles made by the Ukrainian side since the beginning of the Russian invasion. Guillermo Pulido, a doctoral candidate in Strategic Studies and an analyst for Ejércitos Magazine, explained to El Periódico de España, from the Prensa Ibérica group, that this new weapon is essential in the announced counteroffensive, since it is used in a suppression operation to “destroy logistical knots and artillery of the enemy that can neutralize the Ukrainian units that try to penetrate the Russian fortified defensive lines.”

Misil Storm Shadow

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This morning, President Zelenski told the BBC that his country is not yet ready for the expected counter-offensive since “although they could be successful, we would lose a lot of people and this is not acceptable.” “We need to wait. we need some more time“While the armored vehicles arrive, said the Ukrainian president. Although the NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, has said that the bulk of the weapons requested by Ukraine was already in the country, the truth is that there are, for example, units of Leopard tanks that have not yet arrived Spain promised ten of these tanks, but the Ukrainian Armed Forces have received four.

For Pulido, although the Storm Shadow is essential, Ukraine also needs combat engineer units for the “breakout operation” that is expected in the Kherson or Zaporizhia regions. “You have to elaborate a very complicated choreography to launch the announced counteroffensive.” The time necessary for the preparation and training of these highly specialized units, he says, is the basic reason for the doubts and appeasement expressed by Zelensky in recent days to launch the counteroffensive.