The UK has become the first nation to supply Ukraine with Storm Shadow missiles, capable of hitting targets up to 200 miles away, and surpassing the US-supplied

Himars in terms of range. Costing £2.2 million each, these missiles can be fired deep behind enemy lines, potentially disrupting Russia's supply chains.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace confirmed that the RAF cruise missiles were being supplied to bolster Ukraine's anticipated counter-offensive. Despite concerns from the Kremlin, Wallace stated that "it is the actions of Russia alone" that have led to Storm Shadow missiles being provided to Ukraine, and described this as a "calibrated and proportionate response to Russia's escalations."

While no details have been released about numbers to be sent, the move is seen as a response to Ukraine's request for long-range precision munitions to hit Russian command posts, ammunition and logistic depots, and key pieces of battlefield equipment such as air defence.

The Storm Shadows have been supplied independently of the International Fund for Ukraine (IFU), a UK-led mechanism for procuring weapons through like-minded allies, as sources say going through this route would have taken too long. Photo by Corrado Baldassi, Wikimedia commons.