Several British media report the firing by Kyiv of medium-range missiles supplied by the United Kingdom on Wednesday, November 20, the day after the use of American ATACMS on Russian territory.
Kyiv used British Storm Shadow missiles for the first time on Wednesday, November 20 on Russian territory, after having obtained authorization from London, reported several British media, the day after the use of American ATACMS missiles. Several Storm Shadow missiles were launched at at least one Russian military target, reports the Financial Timesciting three anonymous sources including a Western official informed of the strike. The SkyNews channel also reported the use of these missiles.
According to the daily The Guardianthe United Kingdom gave the green light to the use of these missiles against Russian territory in response to the deployment of North Korean troops alongside those of Moscow. Neither Kyiv nor London have yet confirmed this information. Questioned before Parliament on Wednesday, British Defense Minister John Healey said he did not want to reveal “operational details”.
A targeted underground base?
According to the Ukrainian media Defense Expressthe target of the strikes would be a buried command post in the Baryatinsky estate in Marino, a 19th century palace which notably served as the home of the last of the Romanov grand duchesses. “Speculation suggests a deeply buried military command post, potentially serving as a communications center, was the primary target”specifies the Ukrainian media. Which also raises the possibility that North Korean officers were there. According to the Institute for the Study of War, the stationing of Russian and North Korean personnel near the property is plausible. “Marino is located approximately 30km from the front in Kursk Oblast, which would be an appropriate distance for an operational troop HQ conducting offensives there”explains the American think tank, cited by SkyNews.
Storm Shadow missiles are long-range cruise missiles, jointly developed by the United Kingdom and France (under the name Scalp on the French side). Launched from a fighter plane, they have a range of more than 250 km. Kyiv had long demanded authorization to use these medium-range weapons, which also include American ATACMS, but the West feared the reaction from Moscow, which presented this as a red line.
Moscow denounces “escalation” with the use of medium-range Western missiles
On Tuesday, Ukraine used ATACMS missiles for the first time, with a range of 300 km, against a military installation in the Russian region of Bryansk. Until now, several Western countries including the United Kingdom, the United States and France supplied long-range missiles to Ukraine but did not authorize their use on Russian territory.
The head of Russian diplomacy Sergei Lavrov judged that this use of American missiles is “a signal” according to which Ukraine and the West “want climbing”. It is about“a new phase of the Western war against Russia and we will react accordingly”he insisted on Tuesday from the G20 as the invasion of Moscow entered its thousandth day this week.
Updated at 10:25 a.m. with details from Defense Express on the target of the strike.
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