The Telegraph reports that the UK Ministry of Defence has been forced to clarify it has not given permission for Ukraine to use Storm Shadows to strike inside Russia.
This clarification was made after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's statement to journalists on his way to the NATO summit in Washington. He said that Ukraine could use British Storm Shadow missiles to strike military targets in Russia.
On Thursday, 11 July, Downing Street said that the government's policy "had not changed" regarding the deployment of the long-range missiles, despite comments from the Prime Minister that suggested he was loosening restrictions on how the missiles are used.
The British Government has allowed Kyiv to fire the missiles against targets in Crimea and mainland Ukraine since they were delivered last year, but has banned the country from using them to hit targets inside Russia.
Officials are concerned such a move would escalate the war, and could draw the UK into a conflict with Russia.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy – who has been meeting world leaders at Nato’s 75th anniversary in Washington – announced on Wednesday evening that he had been granted permission to use strategic cruise missiles in Russia.
Zelenskyy shared a photo of himself with the British prime minister on social media with a caption: "This morning, I learned about the permission to use Storm Shadow missiles against military targets in Russia. Today, we had the opportunity to discuss the practical implementation of this decision."
The Telegraph's sources confirmed the missile has not been used this year and stressed that Mr Zelensky would have to “seek assurances elsewhere” before Ukraine could fire the cruise missiles into Russian territory.
A senior defence source said the situation was “more nuanced” than Ukraine’s president had suggested.
They added that permission to launch the strategic missile into Russia would require a sign off from three countries, one of which is the United Kingdom. France manufactures the Storm Shadow alongside the UK.
“It’s not going to happen,” the source added when asked if Ukraine will fire Storm Shadow into Russia.