Ukraine launches ‘huge Storm Shadow attack’ against key chemical depot inside Russia | World | News
British Storm Shadow cruise missiles were used by Ukraine to penetrate Russian air defences and attack one of the invading country’s facilities, it has been revealed. According to the Ukrainian military, the long-range air-to-air missiles were launched to strike a chemical plant in the Bryansk region that is believed to be making items vital to Russia‘s war effort.
The operation, carried out late on Tuesday, saw Ukraine‘s Air Force working alongside its Navy, Land Forces and other military units. “A massive combined missile-and-air strike was carried out, including air-launched Storm Shadow missiles that penetrated Russia’s air defence system,” Ukraine‘s General Staff of the Armed Forces said in a statement. It described the plant as a “key facility” producing gunpowder, explosives and rocket fuel, used by the Russian military in its attacks on Ukraine. Footage showed a huge fire erupting from an industrial complex.
Alexander Bogomaz, the governor of Bryansk Oblast, also known as Bryanshchina, said in a post on the messaging platform Telegram that Ukraine was attacking the region with drones and missiles. He added that no one was injured in the attack and no damage was reported. However, Russia rarely reports any damage inflicted by Ukraine during the ongoing conflict.
According to the Russian Defence Ministry, its air defences destroyed 57 Ukrainian drones over the region in western European Russia in the space of four hours.
Storm Shadow is a British-French cruise missile capable of flying a maximum range of 155 miles. It is launched from an aircraft and then flies at close to the speed of sound (600 mph) close to the ground using GPS before dropping down and detonating its high-explosive warhead, which weighs 450kg (990lb). Each missile costs nearly $1 million (£767,000), so it tends to only be used as part of a carefully planned barrage of much cheaper drones sent ahead to confuse and exhaust the enemy’s air defences.
Made by manufacturer MBDA, the cruise missile is considered an ideal weapon for penetrating hardened bunkers and high-profile facilities like the one reportedly struck in Bryansk.
According to the BBC, Ukraine first used Storm Shadow missiles against targets inside Russia late last year.
This latest attack comes after the US authorised Ukraine to use American long-range missiles, ATACMS, against Russia in November last year. In the same month, the UK gave Ukraine the green light to fire Storm Shadow missiles at Russia.
Russia also launched an attack overnight, pounding Ukraine‘s capital Kyiv as well as other areas of the war-torn nation. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the brutal missile and drone strikes sparked fires across several districts.
As air defence systems shot down the ballistic missiles, debris also fell onto the city, where cars were set on fire and windows shattered.
The attack, which saw Kyiv being hit by at least four ballistic missiles, claimed the lives of six people in the city’s wider region, including a six-month-old baby, a woman and a 12-year-old girl. It also forced power outages across the nation as it damaged energy facilities alongside residential buildings.
Hours before the attacks, the White House announced plans for Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump to meet in Hungary had been shelved, following Russia‘s refusal to move from its “maximalist” demands.
