Exclusive: Zelenskyy administration expresses frustration with Starmer over lack of missiles
Ukraine’s relationship with the UK has “got worse” since the Labour government took power in July, officials in Kyiv have told the Guardian, voicing frustration over Britain’s failure to supply additional long-range missiles.
Ukraine’s principal complaint with the UK is that it has not supplied any additional missiles from its reserves of Storm Shadow, even for use against targets in Crimea and other Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia since 2014. Storm Shadow is a highly accurate cruise missile with a range of about 155 miles developed via an Anglo-French collaboration. Stocks are also held by Italy. Though expensive, at $1m a time, it is considered effective against static targets and has been used to strike at Russian naval assets in Crimea.
Starmer met Zelenskyy on Thursday at a European political summit in Budapest. The prime minister said the UK’s support for Ukraine was “unwavering” and acknowledged “we need to step up”. “It’s very important that we stand with you,” Starmer said. Downing Street said that the UK’s “support for Ukraine is ironclad” and that Starmer has been clear that his government would stand with Ukraine for as long as it took, emphasising the number of meetings between the two leaders sinceA No 10 spokesperson said: “One of the prime minister’s first decisions in office was to commit to spending £3bn on support for Ukraine every year – since then, the prime minister has met President Zelenskyy six times, including hosting him at No 10 twice, and...
Zelenskyy has also repeatedly urged the UK to lift restrictions on the use of Storm Shadows against military sites deep inside Russia. Downing Street had been thought to be sympathetic to the request but has not rescinded the ban because of entrenched opposition from the Biden administration.
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