UK's new PM not opposed to Ukraine firing UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles on Russia

The UK’s new prime minister, Keir Starmer, has made it clear that Ukraine could use UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles to hit military targets inside Russia.

As reported by Bloomberg, answering a question, Starmer agreed that it was Ukraine's call on how to use the Storm Shadow missiles provided by the UK.

In doing this, Starmer confirmed that he would follow the previous UK government's policy on the use of long-range weapons in the Russo-Ukrainian war.

The missiles, he said, should obviously be "used in accordance with international humanitarian law as you would expect". He added that Storm Shadow should be used "for defensive purposes".

"But it is for Ukraine to decide how to deploy it for those defensive purposes," Starmer said.

Starmer's statement echoes his predecessor Rishi Sunak's stance, who, while never explicitly authorising Ukraine to use Storm Shadow missiles to strike Russian territory, emphasised Kyiv's right to decide on their usage. This stance was previously labelled as "very dangerous" by the Kremlin.

Commenting on the Russian attack on the Okhmatdyt children's hospital in Kyiv, Starmer said it was an "absolutely shocking, appalling attack" that created a "very important if tragic backdrop to this summit".

Following a visit to Kyiv in May, former UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said Ukraine had the right to strike Russian territory with UK-supplied weapons.

On the other hand, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the UK had not granted "100% authorisation" for its missiles to be used in strikes against targets in Russia.