JAKARTA - Britain on Thursday became the first country to start supplying Ukraine with long-range cruise missiles, which will allow Ukrainian troops to attack Russian troops and long-backed supply bins behind the front lines.
Ukraine is known to have been asking for long-range missiles for months, but the support provided by Britain and other allies such as the United States previously was limited to short-range weapons.
Highlighting what he called the intentional targeting of civilians, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told parliament: "Russia must admit that its own actions have led to such systems being provided," Reuters reported May 11.
Minister Wallace said Britain supplies Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine so they can be used within its territory, implying it has received guarantees from Ukraine that the missiles will not be used to target within Russia.
The missiles "now enter, or are in the country itself", he said.
Earlier, the Kremlin said, if Britain provided this missile, it would require "sufficient response from our military".
Russia has launched a series of long-range missile attacks on Ukraine in recent days.
Such attacks are said to have been designed to lower Kyiv's ability to fight, not intentionally targeting civilians.
Minister Wallace said the supply of Storm Shadow from Britain would be sufficient to meet Ukraine's current demand.
He also referred to a possible second wave of missile supplies by a group of British-led European countries, which last week asked the company to express interest in supplying Ukraine with missiles with a range of up to 300 km (190 miles).
Minister Wallace added that one of the main challenges in supplying weapons was finding ways to put the British-French design weapon into the Russian-designed aircraft used by Ukrainian forces.
Ukraine is expected to launch a counter-attack as soon as six months to keep its troops in a defensive position. Russia carried out a major winter attack that failed to seize significant territory.
Storm Shadows, produced by European missile maker MBDA, is a long-range missile launched from the air, designed for attacks on high-value targets such as a tightened bunker with a range of more than 250 km (155 miles).
Separately, Sidharth Kaushal, a marine force researcher at the London-based Royal United Services Institute, said Britain's decision to supply Storm Shadows was important for Ukrainian forces in two ways.
Kaushal said it would put Russia's ammunition depot within reach again after Russian troops adapted to the US-backed High Mobility Artillery Rocket (HIMARS) system last year by moving it from a range of about 70 km (45 miles).
Next, Kaushal said Storm Shadow could be used to target Russian ships at the port of Crimea Sevastopol, which he said was significant because the Russian navy had been involved in launching attacks across Ukraine.
After the United States, Britain has become the second-largest military aid supplier to Ukraine by providing 2.3 billion pounds (USD 2.9 billion) in aid last year.
Britain was the first country to supply more sophisticated weapons to Ukraine. London sent its first anti-air and anti-tank weapons to Ukraine ahead of the invasion, and in February announced it would be the first country to start training Ukrainian pilots with NATO fighter jets.
In January, Britain said it would send its 14 combat tanks to Ukraine, a promise that other countries, including the United States and Germany, follow.
It is known, until now, the long-range weapons that the United States says will provide are the Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB), which has a range of about 150 km.
Washington has so far refused to supply Ukraine with Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles with a range of 297 km, amid concerns that Ukraine could use it to attack within the internationally recognized Russian border.
Britain says it always assesses the risk of provocation or escalation when deciding what to send to Ukraine.
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