Washington: The United Kingdom appears poised to supply Ukraine with long-range missiles, the weapons Kyiv has long sought and the Biden administration has declined to provide, The Washington Post reported, citing an International Fund for Ukraine (IFU) procurement notice.
The IFU is a funding mechanism administered by the UK’s Defense Ministry to procure arms for Ukraine. The fund brings together the UK, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden.
In a notice posted on May 2, the UK’s Defense Ministry asked for “expressions of interest” in providing strike capabilities with a range of up to 300 kilometers (nearly 200 miles), the report said on Monday.
No final decision has been made, a UK official told the newspaper, declining to confirm the type, timing, or quantity of weapons in question.
The requested specifications and capabilities, however, closely match the UK’s air-launched Storm Shadow cruise missiles, the report noted.
US intelligence also confirmed that the UK was planning to send Ukraine an unspecified number of Storm Shadow missiles, as well as UK personnel to assist in targeting, the report added, citing the recently leaked Pentagon documents.
The ability to strike “far behind Russia’s front lines” would support Ukraine’s expected counteroffensive, the report stated.
