Ukraine-Russia Latest: UK Storm Shadow Missiles Used Inside Russia For First Time
NewsWorldEuropeIt comes after Biden has approved the provision of anti-personnel landmines to Kyiv, as Putin ramps up Russia’s nuclear threat
Remains of car that exploded in Sevastopol killing Russian naval officer
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Ukraine has fired British long-range Storm Shadow missiles into Russia for the first time, The Independent understands, as momentum builds in the West’s military support for Kyiv’s war effort.
The British-made missile – which Kyiv has been lobbying to use beyond Russia’s borders for months – was fired at Russia on Wednesday, with images published by Russian military bloggers purporting to show Storm Shadow fragments in Russia’s Kursk region, beyond Ukraine’s northeastern border.
It comes after Ukraine fired an American-made long-range ATACMS missile more than 100 kilometres deep into Russia on Tuesday, after US president Joe Biden gave way to months of pressure from Kyiv.
On Wednesday, the US also announced it would allow the Ukrainian military to use anti-personnel landmines, as it seeks to slow down Russian advances.
Moscow has responded angrily to the developments, accusing the West of escalating the conflict.
Russian president Vladimir Putin signed a revised version of Moscow’s nuclear doctrine, which lowered the threshold for Russia to use nuclear weapons.
Exclusive: Japan nuclear bomb survivor warns Putin he has no idea destruction they causeA survivor of the atomic bomb attack on Japan’s Nagasaki during the Second World War has warned Vladimir Putin that he has no idea of the destruction and pain such weapons cause as he threatens the West with the prospect of nuclear war.
Terumi Tanaka, one of a diminishing number of survivors of the US attacks on Japan in 1945, said the use of nuclear weapons would spell “the end of the human race” and that leaders like Mr Putin “don’t realise the extent of the damage that can be done”.
Mr Tanaka’s warning, made during a sit-down interview with The Independent in campaign group Nihon Hidankyo’s small but bustling Tokyo office, came at a time of escalating nuclear sabre-rattling from the Russian leadership.
Mr Tanaka, 92, said civilisation as we know it faces an “imminent danger” and a nuclear war appears to be “not far away”, adding: “I’m very scared about it.”
The Independent’s Asia editor Adam Withnall has the full exclusive report:
Japan nuclear bomb survivor warns Putin he has no idea destruction they causeExclusive: Terumi Tanaka, co-chair of a group representing survivors of the US atomic bomb attacks in 1945 which was awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, tells Adam Withnall in Tokyo that civilisation as we know it is in imminent danger as Russia ramps up its sabre-rattling against the West over the invasion of Ukraine
Andy Gregory20 November 2024 23:59
Voices | Nobody can stop the juggernaut of war – not even Putin In this opinion piece for Independent Voices, historian and author Mark Almond writes:
The announcement that the US embassy in Kyiv – and some EU embassies – are shutting for fear of Russian airstrikes adds to the mood of growing crisis over Ukraine.
If the Kremlin was to deliberately target foreign embassies in Ukraine, it would be a huge breach in the taboos protecting diplomatic installations even in wartime. Diplomatic immunity is not the only taboo that could fall.
More immediately and widely effective is Washington’s decision to send anti-personnel landmines to Ukraine to slow Russia’s slow but steady advances across the front in eastern Ukraine.
One thing the US has in common with Russia – not to mention China and the world’s “pariah” regimes like Iran, or states without functioning governments like Libya – is its refusal to join the 1997 anti-personnel landmine treaty. The treaty bans their use by most of the world, including the UK and America’s European allies and even Ukraine itself.
Russia, of course, broke the taboo against aggression – in force since Nuremberg in 1945 – by invading Ukraine in the first place. But if Kyiv reneges on its treaty obligation – arguing military necessity – it will be another nail in the coffin of well-meaning attempts to limit the horrors of war.
What is the next shibboleth to fall? How long before WMD become battlefield necessities justified by the actual state of the war on the ground?
Andy Gregory20 November 2024 23:12
Czech military to buy 14 Leopard tanks from Germany in a $167m dealThe Czech defence ministry has announced plans to buy 14 Leopard 2A4 tanks from Germany in a $167m deal, as the country seeks to modernise its military following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The ministry said it hoped the deal would be signed with Germany’s Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH by the end of the year, with the tanks to be delivered by the end of 2026.
Germany has already donated 28 Leopard 2A4 tanks to the Czechs in exchange for the weapons they gave to Ukraine. The Leopards will replace the obsolete Soviet-era T-72 tanks.
Andy Gregory20 November 2024 22:40
US defends approving landmines for Kyiv after Amnesty International and Norway condemn moveAmnesty International has condemned Washington’s decision to supply Ukraine with anti-personnel mines as “reckless” and a “deeply disappointing setback”.
Norway’s foreign minister, Espen Barth Eide, called it “very problematic” because Ukraine is a signatory to an international convention opposing the use of land mines.
However, US defence secretary Lloyd Austin argued that Ukraine already makes its own ant-personnel mines, and that the US has been providing Ukraine with anti-tank mines. He said the new mines the US is giving Kyiv are not persistent, meaning troops can control when they would self-detonate.
“That makes it far more safer eventually than the things that they are creating on their own,” Mr Austin said.
The mines are are electrically fused and powered by batteries so that when the battery runs out, they won’t detonate. They can become inert in anywhere from four hours to two weeks.
Andy Gregory20 November 2024 22:14
Full report: UK ministers scrap warships, helicopters, and drones in £500m defence cutsThe defence secretary has announced emergency cuts to the UK military including the Royal Navy’s two amphibious assault ships, a frigate and 31 helicopters.
John Healy has blamed the disputed £22bn black hole left in the finances by the Tories. However, the Conservatives have warned that the cuts have come because Labour refuses to spend 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence.
Mr Healey told MPs that Labour had “a dire inheritance” from the Tories in defence so needed to scrap six “outdated” defence projects which will save £500m over the next five years.
“We have begun to fix the foundations going forward,” he added. “For too long our soldiers, sailors and air staff have been stuck with using outdated equipment.”
The emergency statement caught MPs by surprise on Wednesday and has left doubts over whether the UK could take back the Falklands if they were invaded again.
Our political editor David Maddox has the full report:
Andy Gregory20 November 2024 21:48
When did Britain first send Ukraine Storm Shadow missiles?The UK first confirmed it would supply Ukraine with Storm Shadow missiles in May last year, for use on Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine.
Then defence secretary Ben Wallace had touted that the weapons would give Ukraine the “best chance” of defending itself.
Ukraine has deployed Storm Shadow missiles on several occasions during the war. In June last year, the then-defence secretary Ben Wallace told parliament that the missiles were already having a “significant impact on the battlefield”.
Storm Shadow missiles have also been used by British and French air forces in the Gulf, Iraq and Libya.
Arpan Rai, Rachel Hagan20 November 2024 21:22
What is the Storm Shadow cruise missile?Storm Shadow is an Anglo-French cruise missile with a maximum range of around 155 miles (250km). The French call it Scalp.
After launch, the weapon, equipped with its navigation system, descends to a low altitude to avoid detection before locking on to its target using an infra-red seeker. On the final approach, the missile climbs to a higher altitude to maximise the chances of hitting the target.
On impact, it penetrates the target before a delayed fuse detonates the main warhead. Powered by a turbo-jet engine, the 1,300kg Storm Shadow travels at speeds of more than 600mph, is just over five metres long and has a wingspan of three metres.
My colleagues Arpan Rai and Rachel Hagan have more details in this report:
Andy Gregory20 November 2024 20:58
Labour MP says he hopes Storm Shadow missiles ‘can take the fight to the Russians’Labour MP Alex Ballinger, who previously served with the Royal Marines, said he hopes the Storm Shadow missiles can “take the fight to the Russians”.
The MP for Halesowen said it is “completely right to say that defence of the UK starts in Ukraine”, telling the Commons: “It is excellent to hear about the military support that we are providing to Ukraine, including the Storm Shadow missiles that we are hearing about in the media at the moment.
“I trained on those weapons and I hope that they can really take the fight to the Russians.”
Andy Gregory20 November 2024 20:34
Russian chess grandmaster rejects claims Ukraine’s use of long-range weapons is an escalationRussian chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov has rejected suggestions that Ukraine using long-range missiles to hit targets in Russia is an escalation of the war.
Mr Kasparov said: “Russia has been bombarding Ukraine with missiles and drones every day for years. Years! Entire cities erased, tens of thousands of civilians killed.
“Don’t treat it like escalation when Ukraine is allowed to strike back at military targets in the aggressor’s territory.”
Andy Gregory20 November 2024 20:08
UK defence secretary says Britain ‘doubling down on support for Ukraine’Addressing the Commons after a point of order was raised over reports of Storm Shadow missiles being used by Ukraine to strike Kursk, Labour’s defence secretary John Healey did not deny that the missiles had been used, saying he could not “go into any further operational details.”
But he noted: “We as a nation and government are doubling down on our support for Ukraine” and that “Ukraine’s action on the battlefield speaks for itself”.
Andy Gregory20 November 2024 19:45
