UK says it won’t help Ukraine hit Russian targets
Defence Secretary John Healey stated that Britain will not assist Ukraine in hitting targets within Russia.
John Healey did not rule out accepting the Ukrainian president’s request to use British-made missiles against Russian territory, but added that Britain would not be involved in any such attacks, News.Az reports citing the Guardian.Healey was speaking hours before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke at an extraordinary meeting of the British cabinet on Friday, the first foreign leader to do so in nearly 30 years.
The defence secretary told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We’re providing weapons to Ukraine for their defence of their sovereign country. And that does not preclude them hitting targets in Russia, but that must be done by the Ukrainians. It must be done within the parameters and the bounds of international humanitarian law.”
Keir Starmer had previously indicated Ukraine would be able to use the Storm Shadow missiles against targets in Russia, but only for “defensive” purposes. The prime minister said last week: “It is for defensive purposes, but it is for Ukraine to decide how to deploy it for those defensive purposes.”
Zelenskyy spoke to the cabinet on Friday to appeal to ministers to use Storm Shadow missiles against Russian targets. He also urged ministers to help build up Europe’s defence industrial base, as leaders around the world adjust to the possibility of a second, more isolationist, Trump administration.
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