Ukraine uses British Storm Shadow rockets against Russia for the first time

Ukraine uses British Storm Shadow rockets against Russia for the first time

Ukraine fired British-French Storm Shadow rockets for goals within Russia on Wednesday, as a Russian military blog and Reuters report. This happened a day after Ukraine US atacms rocket had shot.

confirmation of the operations

According to an anonymous official report, the use of the rockets delivered by the United Kingdom to combat Russian goals of Reuters. British media also reported on the use of the cruise missiles on Wednesday, citing their own sources.

reactions by Defense Minister

The Defense Minister of Ukraine, Rustem Umerov, refused to confirm or deny the use of the British rockets at a press conference on Wednesday. A spokesman for the British Ministry of Defense also replied with ambiguities when asked by CNN.

When asked whether Ukraine used the Storm Shadow rockets against a goal in Russia, Umerov replied: "We use all means to defend our country, so we will not go into detail here. But we signal that we are able to react." He added: "We will defend ourselves and strike back ... with all available means."

evidence and report

A Russian military blogger posted photos of a fragment of a Storm Shadow rocket on Wednesday, which is said to be from up to 12 fired rockets in the Russian Course area. According to the blog, the fragment in the Russian village of Marino, which is about 56 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, was photographed. The inscriptions "Storm Shadow" can be seen on the fragment.

The arms expert Trevor Ball, a former senior technician for explosive materials from the US Army, confirmed to CNN that it was a fragment of a storm shadow rocket. However, CNN could not confirm that the picture on Telegram was taken on Wednesday.

explosions in the Kursk region

A separate video that was published on Telegram and was verified and geo -referenced by CNN shows explosions that were audible on Wednesday from the Russian village of Marino. An weapon expert who checked the video for CNN said that there was no evidence that the explosions were caused by a different kind of ammunition, but it was not possible to say with certainty that they come from Storm Shadow rockets.

delivery of the Storm Shadow rockets

The United Kingdom and France previously provided the long-sufficient Storm Shadow rockets for use within the Ukrainian borders. The rockets have a range of around 250 kilometers, which is somewhat shorter than the reach of the American ATACMS (300 kilometers). CNN had tried to obtain a statement by the French Ministry of Defense.

Paul Adams, the BBC's diplomatic correspondent, reported on Wednesday that "Ukraine has so far limited the use of Storm Shadow to the Course area, where Ukrainian troops continue to keep soil." He pointed out that the reports are still unclear and the goal is not known, but “the Storm Shadow is strong enough to penetrate bunkers with extreme accuracy.”

attack on ammunition bearing

The attack took place a day after the announcement of two US officials who informed CNN that Ukraine for the first time US-made Atacms-Rakets to meet a Russian arms camp on Tuesday. The bid administration had given the Kiev Military Green Light on Sunday to use the long-range American weapons against destinations in Russia.

Ukraine used eight long ranges missiles in the United States to successfully meet a ammunition camp in the Russian area, according to two US defense officers.

consequences of the attack

The attacked facility is located in Bryansk, north of the Course area, where Ukraine continues to control Russian territory as part of a counter-offensive. According to a first assessment of the attack, the Ukrainian attack damaged the ammunition camp. An official added that the United States had found signs of secondary explosions, a common result in attacks on facilities with large amounts of ammunition and weapons.

Russia fires two interceptors in the incoming rockets and could have intercepted a few of the ATACMS, as the officials reported. Nevertheless, the attack was successful because he scored his goal.

contradictory information in Russia

The US assessment contradicts the Russian claims that the Ukrainian attack did not cause victims or damage. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Tuesday that the Ukraine fired six Atacms rockets on Facility in Bryansk, claiming that five of the rockets were shot down and the sixth was damaged. The ministry said that the fragments of the rockets had fallen on the military site and caused a fire that was deleted.

Ukraine has so far neither confirmed the use of the long-reaching US missiles nor denied. On Tuesday, the Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj said: "Ukraine has long -reaching skills. Ukraine has its own long -range drones. We now have a long" Neptune "(Ukrainian marching aircraft) and not just one. And now we have Atacms. And we will use all of this. ”