The Kremlin has warned the US and Britain that they will be seen as “full” participants in the war in Ukraine if Storm Shadow and HIMARS missiles are used to hit targets in Russia or Russian-occupied Crimea.
Vladimir Putin’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu warned that he will target “decision-making centers” in Ukraine – implying that he intends to direct his army to target Volodymyr Zelensky and his government leaders in Kiev.
Shoigu said, “According to our information, the leadership of the Ukrainian armed forces is planning to launch attacks on the territory of the Russian Federation, including Crimea, with HIMARS and Storm Shadow missiles.
“The use of these missiles outside the area of the special military operation would mean full involvement of the US and UK in the conflict, resulting in immediate attacks on the decision-making centers in Ukraine.”
His claim that Crimea is part of Russia is disputed by the West – and international law – which considers Crimea to be Ukrainian.
Vladimir Putin’s defense minister Sergei Shoigu (pictured giving a speech) warned he will target “decision-making centers” in Ukraine – implying he plans to order his army to attack Volodymyr Zelensky and his government leaders in Kiev
Shoigu’s threat came as Russia today admitted it had lost another colonel in an earlier Storm Shadow attack close to Crimea, on the Arabat Spit (pictured)
Putin forcibly annexed the Black Sea Peninsula in 2014.
So far, Ukraine has used the British-supplied Storm Shadow and the US-supplied HIMARS to hit targets in Russian-held areas of mainland Ukraine, with the exception of Crimea.
Shoigu’s threat came as Russia admitted today that it had lost another colonel in an earlier Storm Shadow attack close to Crimea, on the Arabat Spit.
Colonel Sergei Postovalov, 53, will be buried tomorrow after he was fatally wounded in the June 10 attack that hit a Russian command post near Henichesk, minutes after Putin’s deputy prime minister Denis Manturov visited.
Putin is said to have visited the site in April.
Postovalov was a colonel in the armed forces of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs.
His death follows the killing of Major General Sergey Goryachev, 52, of the Russian army during an attack in the annexed region of Zaporizhzhia earlier this month – also seen as a Storm Shadow attack carried out by the Ukrainian armed forces.
Shoigu is clearly shocked by the power of especially the Storm Shadow with a range of 250 kilometers, which was fired from Ukrainian Su-24 warplanes.
“The regime in Kiev uses a large number of Western weapons and elite formations whose personnel are trained by NATO specialists,” Shoigu told the collegium of the Russian defense ministry.
Analysts have said the long-range Storm Shadow (pictured in the RAF museum) has been a game changer for the Ukrainians as Kiev launches its counter-offensive. The Storm Shadow missiles, accurate to more than 150 miles, enable Ukrainian troops to get deeper into Russian-held territory than before
US-made HIMARS systems (pictured) also changed the game, allowing Ukraine to push deeper into Russian-controlled territory and push back the front lines
Colonel Sergei Postovalov (pictured), 53, will be buried tomorrow after he was fatally wounded in the June 10 attack that hit a Russian command post near Henichesk
Last week Yevgeny Balitsky, Moscow-appointed head of Ukraine’s occupied Zaporizhzhia region, admitted that the weapons are causing “problems” and are even more problematic for Kremlin armies than the US-supplied HIMARS systems.
His words confirm the impression that the long-range Storm Shadow has been a game changer for the Ukrainians as Kiev launches its counter-offensive.
“They’re definitely giving us trouble with their missiles, I must say, especially Storm Shadow,” Balitsky said.
“We somehow learned how to shoot [US-supplied] HIMARS.
But the [British-supplied] Shadows are even harder. They arrive and have a larger radius. So for us it’s a problem.
In fact, our air defense is struggling [Storm Shadow].
“It shoots them down, but there’s only a 50 percent chance the missiles get shot down.”
He added: “Out of four, three have reached us recently.
“Sometimes two make it. The rocket is modern, although it is not the newest, but it is fast enough, it flies well. I mean, at different speeds, at different heights, changing modes, so it’s not easy to shoot down.”
Britain announced the delivery of Anglo-French designed Storm Shadows to Ukraine on May 11, in response to a long-standing demand from Kiev for long-range missiles to help defend their territory against Putin’s invading armies.
Storm Shadows also hit the occupied port cities of Berdiansk and Mariupol on the Sea of Azov, reports say. And the £2.2 million per unit missiles were used to attack Luhansk in occupied Donbas.
The GPS-guided ground hugging missiles with a 450 kg warhead have a range of about 250 kilometers. The missiles enable Ukrainian troops to get deeper into Russian-held territory than previously possible.
Storm Shadow was developed by Matra and British Aerospace from 1994, developed by Matra and British Aerospace from 1994 and now produced by MBDA.
Defense Secretary Ben Wallace previously confirmed that the missiles had been used by Ukraine on May 18, but declined to provide further details.
He said the missiles gave the Ukrainians the ability to attack Russian command and control centers located further behind the front line to keep them out of range of the rocket artillery systems the West had supplied to Kiev.
Ukraine is the only country publicly supplied with these missiles by the UK.
Russia has admitted that British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles are a major problem for Vladimir Putin’s forces. Pictured: Earlier this month, an explosion can be seen in the occupied port of Berdiansk caused by a Ukrainian attack with a Storm Shadow missile
Ukrainian servicemen of the 30th Kostiantyn Ostrozkyi Separate Mechanized Brigade ride in a T-80 main battle tank previously captured from Russian forces along a road near the frontline town of Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, June 19
An image showing how the Storm Shadow Missiles work on the battlefield
Britain also became the first country to deliver long-range precision missiles to Ukraine on delivery.
They were also reportedly used this month when Russian MP Viktor Vodolatsky was injured in an attack on May 15.
The missiles first saw operational use by British forces during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, where they were tested by the Royal Air Force’s 617 Squadron.
The RAF and the French Air Force have used them against Isis. Britain also used them against Syrian forces in 2018.