Media: UK halts Storm Shadow missile supply to Ukraine amid stock concerns

The UK's Defence Ministry has announced that the suspension of Storm Shadow long-range missile deliveries to Ukraine may be due to a shortage of stockpiles. 

Sources in the ministry suggest that the military does not want to deplete its stockpiles of Storm Shadow missiles, as maintaining sufficient reserves for the country's own defence remains a priority, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

Other sources believe that London is considering that if the Storm Shadow missiles are provided before they are authorised for strikes on distant targets within Russia, they may not be used effectively.

The UK Defence Ministry told The Guardian that it does not comment on operational stocks, but emphasised that Britain's support for Ukraine remains unwavering, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer consistently making it clear that his government will support Ukraine for as long as necessary. 

The Defence Ministry reminded that in July, Keir Starmer promised to allocate 3 billion pounds annually in aid to Kyiv, and since then, he has had six phone calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and met him twice in person at his office.  

The Guardian reported a week ago that the supply of Storm Shadow missiles had been halted. According to the newspaper, this decision was made immediately after the Labour Party came to power in July 2024.

The Russian side opposes discussions about long-range missile strikes. Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that lifting restrictions would make NATO member states direct participants in the conflict.

"If this happens, given the change in the nature of the conflict, we will make corresponding decisions based on the threats that will be posed to us," he said.

Ukraine has already carried out long-range strikes into Russian territory by using Western weapons, head of Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate Kyrylo Budanov said. 

In May, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that US weapons were already being used for strikes beyond the active combat zones.  President Putin said that Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory using Western weaponry are "close to aggression."

During the invasion of the Kursk region, Ukrainian forces used British Challenger 2 tanks. The use of Western weapons in the Kursk border area was also mentioned by Russia's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy. The Russian Defence Ministry has repeatedly reported attempts to attack Crimea by using Storm Shadow missiles. The strikes on Belgorod were carried out by using the Czech-made RM-70 Vampire multiple rocket launcher system.

By Naila Huseynova