France allowed Ukraine to use distant Scalp missiles in Russia – BBC
Kyiv • UNN
France and the United Kingdom have allowed Ukraine to strike at Russian military facilities in Russia with long-range scalp/Storm Shadow cruise missiles, allowing it to strike at airfields in border regions such as Kursk and Belgorod.
The United Kingdom and France, which supply Ukraine with Storm Shadow cruise missiles (or as they are called in France Scalp – ED.), have not directly restricted their use. Their range can reach 250 km. This was said by an anonymous French military aviation officer, writes BBC News, reports UNN.
Details
We must allow (Ukraine) to neutralize the military facilities from which missiles are launched, and, in fact, the military facilities from which Ukraine is attacked
According to the military aviation officer, now Ukraine can strike at the airfields of the Kursk and Belgorod regions bordering Ukraine.
However, as the publication's journalists note, such operations will be limited in terms of what they can achieve.
Ukrainian Su-24s equipped with these cruise missiles will have to approach the Russian border to launch them, making them vulnerable to Russian air defense systems. The F-16 aircraft, which are expected by the end of this year, are better equipped for such tasks. But President Zelensky admits that it is still not clear whether Ukraine's partners will allow these aircraft to hit targets in Russia
addition
Earlier it became known that the administration of Joe Biden relaxed its long-standing policy, according to which it banned Ukraine from using American weapons against targets inside Russia. This is reported by The Guardian. In particular, the United States allowed strikes with American weapons, but only in the areas bordering the Kharkiv region. As the press secretary of the president of Ukraine Sergey Nikiforov noted, such a decision of the Biden administration will significantly strengthen Ukraine's ability to resist Russia's attempts to enter the border en masse.
Subsequently, US Secretary of State Anthony Blenken officially announced for the first time that US President Joe Biden granted permission to Ukraine to hit military targets on the territory of Russia with weapons received from the United States.
