What do you know about the Storm Shadow missiles that Ukraine has begun using against Russia?

Military analyst and former British Army officer Justin Crump says the Storm Shadow has been a highly effective weapon for Ukraine, accurately hitting well-defended targets in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory.

“It is no surprise that Kyiv is pushing for its use inside Russia, particularly targeting airports used for glide bomb attacks that have recently hampered Ukrainian frontline efforts,” he added.

Why did Ukraine resort to these missiles now?

Ukraine's cities and front lines are being bombed daily by Russia, and Kiev complains that it is not allowed to strike the bases from which Russian forces launch these attacks, leaving it fighting this war with one arm tied behind its back.

Ukraine has its own innovative and effective long-range drone program, but it carries only a small payload of explosives, most of which is detected and intercepted.

Kyiv says that in order to repel Russian air strikes, it needs long-range missiles, including Storm Shadow and similar systems such as the US ATACMS missiles, which have a range of more than 300 kilometers.

What difference can a Storm Shadow missile make?

Observers believe that the use of the aforementioned missile will not make a big difference, as Kiev has been demanding permission to use long-range Western missiles for a long time, and in return Russia has already taken precautions for the possibility of lifting the restrictions.

Therefore, Moscow has moved bombers, missiles and some other equipment away from the border with Ukraine and out of the range of the Storm Shadow missiles.

The Institute for the Study of War had previously said that about 200 Russian bases would be within range of Shadow Storm missiles launched from Ukraine.

Justin Crump says that while Russian air defenses have evolved to counter the Storm Shadow threat in Moscow-controlled territory inside Ukraine, that task will be much more difficult given the extent of Russian territory that could now be attacked.

“This will make it more difficult to provide military logistics, command and control, and air support, and even if Russian aircraft withdraw away from Ukraine’s borders to avoid the missile threat, they will still suffer increased time and costs per sortie to the front line,” he added.

In contrast, Matthew Saville, director of military science at a Russian think tank, believes that Storm Shadow is unlikely to make a big difference. Ukraine does not have many of these missiles, and Britain is not prepared to provide more.

Why did the West hesitate to allow Ukraine to bombard Russia with its missiles?

The answer may lie in two words: fear of escalation. Washington fears that allowing Ukraine to hit targets deep inside Russia with Western-supplied missiles could prompt Moscow to retaliate.

The fear in the White House was that Kremlin hardliners might insist that retaliation should be directed at transit points for the missiles on their way to Ukraine, such as Poland.

Russian leaders have also stated on more than one occasion that striking the Russian depth with Western long-range missiles will be considered by Moscow as an aggression on its territory by the country that supplied Ukraine with these missiles, and thus it has the right to bomb these suppliers.

Source: Websites