Ukraine-Russia war latest: UK expected to allow Storm Shadow missile strikes in Russia as war hits 1,000th day

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He argued the US ban had made it impossible for Ukraine to try to stop Russian attacks on its cities and electrical grids.

We look closer at the weapons that could mark a turning point in the war.

Read Barney Davis’ full report:

In a major policy shift just weeks before his tenure in office ends, the US president signed off on Ukraine’s use of ATACMS missiles outside its own borders. This comes after months of refusing Kyiv’s requests, which it said was crucial for its defences against Russia’s invasion. The missiles are first likely to be used inside the Kursk region near Russia’s border, where troops have been massing to try and reclaim territory Kyiv’s forces took in a daring assault in the summer.

It also opens the door for the UK to authorise the use of Britain’s own long-range Storm Shadow missiles into Russia. But what are they?

Russia has reserved its right to use nuclear weapons in the event of agression against it or Belarus using conventional weapons, a Kremlin spokesperson has said.

Any critical threat to Russia’s sovereignty will be met with a severe response, Russia emphasised.

Russia still treats the use of nuclear weapons a means of deterrence, an extreme measure, the Kremlin added.

Putin’s regime has consistently sabre-rattled with the West over the threat of nuclear weapons.

The UK will “double down” on support for Ukraine, fuelling speculation that British-supplied missiles could be used by Kyiv’s forces to hit targets deep inside Russia.

Joe Biden has allowed Ukraine to use US-supplied weapons to strike sites in Russia after months of pressure from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The UK Government would not be drawn on whether restrictions on the use of Storm Shadow missiles it supplied would also be eased, but Defence Secretary John Healey stressed the UK was working in “close co-operation” with the US.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “I’m not going to get into operational details, because the only winner, if we were to do that, is (Vladimir) Putin, and I’m not prepared to do that.”

He told broadcasters at the G20 summit in Brazil: “I’ve been really clear for a long time now we need to double down. We need to make sure Ukraine has what is necessary for as long as necessary, because we cannot allow Putin to win this war.”

Eight people including a child were killed in a Russian drone attack on the northeast Ukrainian region of Sumy, Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday.

The drone attack on a residential building in Hlukhiv, a small residential town bordering Russia, left 12 people wounded including two children, Sumy’s military administration said on Telegram.

“Every new Russian strike only confirms [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s true intentions. He wants the war to continue, he is not interested in talking about peace,” Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said.

A video shared by Mr Zelensky shows emergency workers sifting through the rubble after two drones partially destroyed the building.

Russian forces have heavily bombarded the region of Sumy in recent months. A missile strike on Sunday killed 11 people and injured 89.

The Ukrainian air force said it show down 51 out of 87 drones launched by Russia overnight on Tuesday.

It lost track of the remaining 30 drones on its radars, and one was still flying in Ukrainian airspace, the force added.

Ukraine’s military said it struck a Russian arsenal near the city of Karachev in Bryansk region overnight.

The Ukrainian general staff said it recorded 12 secondary explosions and detonations in the target area.

Britain will “help keep the lights of Ukraine on in the face of Putin’s aggression”, David Lammy said, as Kyiv marks a “grim milestone” of 1,000 days since Russia’s invasion.

Speaking alongside his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha, the foreign secretary condemned Moscow’s recent attack on Ukraine, adding: “It was designed not only to kill Ukrainians, but to take out effectively Ukraine’s power infrastructure and to cause blackouts.”

“Putin wants to plunge Ukraine into darkness. But today, standing here with my friend, the Ukrainian foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, the UK is showing our support to Ukraine is ironclad.

“We will help keep the lights of Ukraine on in the face of Putin’s aggression, and that matters not just for Ukraine’s security, Britain’s security or indeed Europe’s security.”

Vladimir Putin has maintained a cold silence over Washington allowing Ukraine to strike with Russia with its American-made Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMs.

However, early signals from the Kremlin warned that Mr Biden is adding “fuel to the fire” of the war and would escalate international tensions even higher.

Mr Biden’s decision almost entirely was triggered by North Korea’s entry into the fight, according to a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, and was made just before he left for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru.

“This is a signal the Biden administration is sending to North Korea and Russia, indicating that the decision to involve North Korean units has crossed a red line,” according to Glib Voloskyi, an analyst at the CBA Initiatives Center, a Kyiv-based think tank.