BRITAIN’S state-of-the-art Storm Shadow missiles could soon be used by Ukraine to blitz targets deep inside Russia, the German chancellor indicated.
Ukraine’s key backers – including Germany, France, the UK and the US – have lifted restrictions on where the weapons they donate can be used, Friedrich Merz said.
East2WestAn explosion in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory after a strike by British Storm Shadow missiles[/caption]
Britain gave the green light for Storm Shadows to be used inside Russia in November 2024
APFirefighters battle a blaze following strikes on Kherson, Ukraine over the weekend[/caption]
Chanceller Merz said on Monday: “There are no longer any range restrictions on weapons delivered to Ukraine – neither by the British nor by the French nor by us nor by the Americans.
“This means that Ukraine can now defend itself, for example, by attacking military positions in Russia… With very few exceptions, it didn’t do that until recently. It can now do that.”
In November last year, the US authorised Ukraine to use American long-range missiles called ATACMS against targets inside Russia.
In the same month, Britain gave the green light for Ukraine to fire our Storm Shadow missiles at Russia.
France has supplied its Scalp missiles to Ukraine, and reiterated in November that strikes on military targets inside Russia were an option.
It was unclear at the time whether there were range restrictions on the use of these weapons since then – but Merz’s comments imply there were.
He did not elaborate on when the decision was reached by each of the countries to allow unchecked deployment of the weapons – and there has been no official comment from the other name-checked nations.
The Kremlin fumed that the increased fire-power to Ukraine would be “dangerous” and counter-productive to peace.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “If these decisions have indeed been made, they are completely at odds with our aspirations for a political (peace) settlement.
“These are quite dangerous decisions, if they have been made.”
Britain’s bunker-busting Storm Shadow rockets are a nightmare for enemies as they are capable of dodging air defences.
The £800,000 missiles – already being fired within Ukraine – use GPS to precisely hit targets, and can travel at 600mph.
Geramany’s equivalent is the long-range Taurus missile system.
The previous chancellor, Olaf Scholz, was a staunch supporter of Ukraine but held back from supplying the weapons, concerned it might escalate tensions.
Merz has previously said he supports sending Taurus missiles to Ukraine, but did not confirm on Monday whether his government had begun to do so.
His government has declared it will no longer provide details about its weapons being used in Ukraine, opting instead of a position of strategic ambiguity.
APThe aftermath of Russian strikes on Sumy earlier this month[/caption]
APEmergency workers extinguish a fire sparked by Russian missiles near Kyiv[/caption]
Merz was less ambiguous about his thoughts on Putin.
He said it was clear that Putin was approaching the conflict “harder than before”, and the he “obviously sees offers of talks as a sign of weakness”.
Russia launched devastating volley of missiles into Ukraine, including Kyiv, over the weekend.
In the largest-scale aerial attack of the war, Russia sent 367 drones and missiles over the border, killing at least 12 and injuring dozens.
Apartment blocks were set ablaze by the barrage as residents in the Ukrainian capital fled to underground shelters amid the sound of anti-aircraft fire.
Explosions rocked the city during a seven hour raid as fireballs lit up the skyline long into the early hours.
In response, President Volodymyr Zelensky said: “Unfortunately, the Russians show no signals of a ceasefire. They are not yet ready to end the war.”
“Therefore, all our forms of pressure, all our work with partners to put pressure on Russia, are absolutely necessary.
“Pressure convinces. Pressure on the battlefield. Pressure on the economy – and that is exactly what sanctions are for.”
In the wake of the bloodbath Trump said Putin had “gone absolutely crazy” and was “needlessly killing at lot of people”.
AFPA car burning after strikes over the weekend in Odesa[/caption]
GettyKyiv was hit by Russian missiles over the weekend, wounding many and sparking fires[/caption]
AlamyThe Kremlin said that giving Ukraine free range to use western missiles would be ‘dangerous’[/caption]
The Kremlin sought to cool tensions with the White House by thanking Trump with his help in peace negotiations but claiming that this “crucial moment” would inevitably lead to “emotional overload”.
Russia is also reportedly amassing a 50,000-strong force on the border with the Ukrainian city Kharkiv.
The Ukrainian military first reported in April that the Kremlin was gathering troops for a fresh assault on Ukraine’s second-largest city.
Military analysts believe Putin is trying to press home his advantage and capture more Ukrainian land.
They warn that he only has a “four-month window” to achieve a breakthrough in Ukraine this year.
And this could be the beginning of Russia’s summer offensive targeting the border city of Kharkiv – the “fortress” city of Ukraine which put up the maximum resistance at the start of the invasion.
However, a security expert told The Sun he believes that Putin has four glaring vulnerabilities that could ultimately lead to his downfall.
Security expert David H. Carstens also told how the tyrant’s “Achilles’ heel” is putting Russia on track to have the highest number of casualties this year since the war started.
Putin will ‘die like Hitler’
SECURITY expert David H. Carstens believes Putin has four key vulnerability and ‘will die like Hitler’.
The ex-commander told The Sun: “2025 could be the costliest year of the war for Russia in terms of casualties, look, troops are not a limitless resource. So that’s, shall we say, risk number one for Putin.
“Number two is despite Russia’s ability to suffer, the fact that the economy is very fragile.
“If there is some sort of an economic shock, like a massive drop in fuel prices or the loss of a strategic trade partner, I think the system could destabilize.
“Risk or threat to Putin number three is that Putin depends on this very small inner circle.
“His security services, the FSB, his oligarchs, some loyalist military commanders.
“If there are continued war failures, if there is, you know, continued use of soldiers, you know, en masse, rushing Ukrainian defenses, creating these high casualty events, lack of confidence will rise, and this could fracture the inner circle.”
Carstens warned Putin could face the same fall from power as Hitler and end up dead like the Nazi dictator.
“I’ve got to reach into history for the threat to Putin number four. I just don’t think Putin has read his history when it comes to overreach,” he added.
“So Russia is incredibly overextended in Ukraine.
“And it is this exact same type of overreach that ultimately defeated Hitler in his conquest of Europe.
“So I think Putin has fallen into the same demise, is getting mired down in a conflict he cannot sustain, and that as well is part of his Achilles’ heel.”
Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
