MOSCOW: Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Saturday that Ukrainian aircraft used Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles provided by Britain to strike two industrial targets in the Russian-held city of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine.
Reuters was unable to confirm the battlefield reports.
Britain became the first country to announce on Thursday that it had begun supplying Kyiv with long-range cruise missiles, allowing it to target Russian troops and supply dumps far behind the front lines as it plans a major counteroffensive.
British Defense Minister Ben Wallace stated that the missiles might be deployed on Ukrainian territory, meaning that he had got guarantees from Kiev that they would not be used to hit targets within Russia’s internationally recognized borders.
On Friday, the missiles struck a polymer facility and a meat-processing business in Luhansk, according to the Russian government.
“Storm Shadow air-to-air missiles supplied by Britain to the Kyiv regime were used for the strike, contrary to London’s statements that these weapons would not be used against civilian targets,” the ministry stated.
It further claimed that Russia shot down two Ukrainian jets, a Su-24 and a MiG-29, which launched the missiles.
In its most recent bulletin, the ministry also stated that Russian forces had taken control of another block in the eastern city of Bakhmut, which Moscow has been attempting to capture in an attritional artillery fight for more than ten months.
“The units of the Airborne Forces provided support to the assault units and pinned down the enemy on the flanks,” it read.
The Wagner private militia, which has been spearheading the assault on Bakhmut at tremendous cost in casualties, is sometimes referred to as “assault units” by the government.
