British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace has confirmed the delivery of long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles to Kyiv, the BBC reports.
Speaking to members of the House of Commons of the British Parliament on Thursday, Wallace called the move a measured and proportionate response to russia's escalation.
Earlier on Thursday, CNN reported, citing its sources, that the UK has already supplied Ukraine with several Storm Shadow missiles, noting that the range of these missiles allows them to strike deep into the temporarily occupied regions of Ukraine and Crimea.
"The use of Storm Shadow missiles will allow Ukraine to push back russian forces from Ukraine's sovereign territory," Wallace said in a speech to the Parliament.
"We will not just stand by while russia kills civilians," the minister added. – "russia must recognize that it is only its actions that have led to the provision of these systems to Ukraine.
He emphasized that in December he wrote to russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu warning that further russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure could lead to Britain giving Kyiv more powerful weapons.
"The transfer of these missile systems gives Ukraine the best chance to defend itself against russia's brutality," Wallace told MPs.
He said that the missiles were either coming or already in Ukraine's possession, calling the move "measured and proportional to russia's escalation."
Kyiv has not yet officially confirmed the receipt of the Storm Shadow cruise missiles.
However, Wallace reminded that the range of the UK-supplied Storm Shadows is not comparable to russian missile systems – some types of russian missiles can fly much further.
Storm Shadow is an air-to-air cruise missile developed jointly by the UK and France. It has a range of more than 250 kilometers, which is significantly greater than the range of missiles that Ukraine's Western partners have provided to it so far.
The missiles supplied by the UK are air-launched only; the French missiles can be launched from ships and submarines.
Earlier this year, the United Kingdom became the first country to agree to provide Ukraine with main battle tanks.