Ukraine fires British Storm Shadow rockets on Russia for the first time

Ukraine fires British Storm Shadow rockets on Russia for the first time

Ukraine used the British-French Storm Shadow rockets against goals within Russia for the first time on Wednesday, reported a Russian military blog and Reuters. This was done a day after the use of US ATACMS rockets, which were also fired in the Russian area.

confirmation of the attack

The application of the rockets provided by Great Britain against Russian goals was made by an anonymous official spokesman towards Reuters confirmed . British media also reported on the use of the cruise missiles on Wednesday, based on various sources.

reactions by the Minister of Defense

reports on rocket fragments

A Russian military blogger posted photos of a fragment of a storm shadow rocket on Telegram on Wednesday. He claimed that up to 12 of these rockets had been fired to the Kursk region in Russia. The fragment was photographed in the Russian village of Marino, which is about 56 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. Gravures with the inscription "Storm Shadow" can be seen on the fragment.

The arms expert Trevor Ball, a former senior technician for explosives of the US Army, confirmed to CNN that the fragments in the photos actually come from a Storm Shadow rocket. However, CNN could not verify whether the Telegram picture was actually recorded on Wednesday.

video recordings and expert opinions

A separate video that was also published on Telegram and verified by CNN shows explosions that can be heard from the Russian village of Marino on Wednesday. An weapon expert who checked the video for CNN said that there are no signs that the explosions come from another type of ammunition, but it is not possible to say with certainty that they come from Storm Shadow rockets.

collaboration between Great Britain and France

Great Britain and France have previously delivered the long-sufficient Storm Shadow rockets so that Ukraine can use them within their own limits. These rockets have a range of around 250 kilometers, which is slightly shorter than the reach of the American ATACMS (300 kilometers). CNN asked the French Ministry of Defense to comment.

attacks on ammunition depots

The rocket attack follows a report that Ukraine fired US ATACMS rockets across the border for the first time on Tuesday to meet a Russian arms camp. The bids administration had given the approval to use longer American weapons against goals in Russia.

According to two US defense officers, Ukraine used eight long-range missiles to successfully meet a ammunition depot deep in the Russian area. The attacked facility is located in Bryansk, north of the Kursk region, where Ukraine continues to keep Russian areas in a counterattack.

Reviews of the attack

An initial assessment of the attack shows that the Ukrainian attack damaged the ammunition depot. An official added that the United States was able to observe signs of secondary explosions, which are often a result of attacks on facilities that store large amounts of ammunition and weapons.

Russia fired two interceptors on the incoming rockets and could have intercepted a few of the ATACMs. Nevertheless, the attack was successful because the goal was hit. The US rating contradicts the Russian claims that the Ukrainian attack did not cause victims or damage.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said on Tuesday that the Ukraine had fired six Atacms rockets on the facility in Bryansk, with it claimed that five of the rockets had been shot down and the sixth was damaged. The ministry stated that fragments of the rockets had fallen on the grounds of the military facility and had triggered a fire that was deleted.

Ukraine has so far not confirmed or denied the use of long-range US missiles. On Tuesday, the Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj said: "Ukraine has long-range skills. Ukraine has its own long-range drones. We now have long 'Neptune' rockets and not just one. And now we have Atacms. And we will use all of this."

Report by CNNS Christian Edwards