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Ukraine fires British long-range missiles into Russia a day after it launches newly-approved US weapons

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Ukraine fires British long-range missiles into Russia a day after it launches newly-approved US weapons

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Ukraine fired Storm Shadow missiles, U.K.-provided long-range missiles, into Russia on Wednesday, a day after it fired American long-range missiles into Russia for the first time after President Biden lifted a ban on Ukraine using them to strike targets deep within Russia.

Video footage posted to Telegram by Russian war correspondents showed the missiles striking Kursk, a Russian region on the border that Ukrainian troops pushed into in August. Clouds of smoke rose in the distance amid the sounds of at least 14 explosions, the video clips showed.

An official confirmed the strikes to Reuters.

At the time of the strikes, the U.K. had not announced that it granted permission to Ukraine to use the missiles to hit Russian targets. Ukraine has already used the U.K.-provided missiles within its borders.

The Storm Shadow missiles require guidance from U.S. sources to strike targets at the top end of their range, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly.

The British had been seeking approval for the guidance for several months.

Biden’s decision to grant Ukraine permission to fire the missiles, known as Army Tactical Missile System (pronounced attack-ems), into Russia increased pressure on the U.K. and France to follow suit.

France signaled openness to allowing Ukraine to use French long-range SCALP missiles to strike Russian targets on Monday.

“We openly said this was an option that we would consider if it was to allow to strike a target from where Russia is currently aggressing Ukrainian territory,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said.

Biden previously barred Ukraine from using these to carry out the long-range strikes to avoid escalating with Russia or involving the U.S. more directly in the conflict. The American missiles are also costly and the U.S. supply is limited, according to the Pentagon.

Storm Shadow and SCALP missiles have a range of 155 miles, while the American long-range missiles can reach 190 miles. The American missiles are launched from the ground while storm shadow is launched from the air.

Contributing: Reuters

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