The £2m British cruise missile 'used by Ukraine to deal heavy blow to Russia'

A member of the military walks past a MBDA Storm Shadow/Scalp missile at the Farnborough Airshow

Ukraine launched a major attack against a Russian target using British cruise missiles, it has been claimed.

On April 13, Kyiv successfully targeted the command base for Russian ground troops in the occupied Ukrainian city of Luhansk, which was housed in an industrial complex.

To carry out this strike, Ukraine used Storm Shadow missiles – costing £2million each – according to a military source.

This military strike was described by the source as a “heavy blow” for the Russian armed forces, and has been tipped to “create confusion” among troops on the ground.

The source told Sky News: “Russian military culture relies on micromanagement and centralised command, which means that removal of a headquarters like this could paralyse military decision-making for the next month.”

The source also claimed this successful attack would help dampen Russia’s ability to advance further into the war-torn country and boost the Ukrainian efforts to push back the occupiers from the area.

The head of the Ukrainian Air Force, Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk, announced the successful outcome of the operation on Saturday via a message shared on the Telegram messaging platform.

He said: “I thank the pilots of the Air Forces for a successful, and most importantly, an effective strike on an enemy facility in the Luhansk region on April 13, 2024. The Ukrainian pilots did an excellent job and returned to the base.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky

The Storm Shadow, known in France as SCALP is a low-observable, long-range air-launched cruise missile that has been jointly developed by France’s industrial conglomerate Matra and the UK’s British Aerospace.

After a development process lasting seven years, the Storm Shadow became operational in 2003, and has been deployed in several conflicts.

The UK announced it was supplying Storm Shadows to the Ukrainian military in May last year, three months after London had pledged to send the war-torn nation long-range missiles.

French President Emmanuel Macron also pledged and delivered a number of these missiles last year. In January, he announced France would provide Ukraine with 40 more.

Among other targets Ukraine is believed to have hit with Storm Shadow missiles since the beginning of the war is the Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol, attacked in September last year.