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| Russia Successfully Intercepts 2 British-Made Storm Shadow Cruise Missiles |
Moscow - Russian troops managed to intercept two long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles supplied to Ukraine by Britain. This was disclosed by the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The Russian Defense Ministry also said it had intercepted short-range US-made HARM and HIMARS missiles, and shot down 12 drones in the past 24 hours.
Russia did not specify where the intercept took place. However, Russia made the announcement in its daily defense ministry briefing, in which it provided an update on what it called a "special military operation" in Ukraine.
Ukraine's Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Meanwhile, Kiev officials previously said that the Western-supplied weapons would be used exclusively against Russian forces inside Ukraine.
A drone strike was recorded deep inside Russian territory on Saturday, hitting an oil pipeline installation. Russia tends to blame such attacks on Kiev, although Ukraine has not publicly acknowledged carrying out attacks on targets inside Russia.
Britain itself, through British Defense Minister Ben Wallace said the long-range Storm Shadow missile, which was provided to Ukraine, has been used since the deployment was announced. Speaking at a press conference in London with his Norwegian counterpart Bjorn Arild Gram, Wallace said he would not provide further operational details. "All I can say is my understanding it has been in use since we announced its deployment to Ukraine, but I will not go into details," he said.
The Storm Shadow is a long-range stealth cruise missile jointly developed by the UK and France, which is typically air-launched. With a firing range of more than 250 kilometers, or 155 miles, it is just short of the 185-mile range capability of the US-made Army Surface-to-Surface Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, which Ukraine has long requested.