Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer: Law enforcement agencies in New York have informed me of bomb threats targeting several of my offices.
IOF storm Al-Ahli Hospital, vicinity of Al-Mizan Hospital, and Mohammed Ali Al-Muhtaseb Hospital in al-Khalil.
Iraqi sources told Al Mayadeen that reports that Barrack conveyed warnings to Iraq about an Israeli strike if any Iraqi party supports Hezbollah are false.
Pope Leo XIV: Peacemakers do not flee, but dare to stay even if it costs them some sacrifice.
The Pope to the Lebanese: You are a diverse country and a community made up of communities united by one language, the language of hope, which has allowed you to start anew.
Pope Leo XIV to the Lebanese: You are a people who do not give up, but a people who persevere in the face of difficulties and know how to be reborn.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: Israeli occupation targets bulldozer working to remove rubble of destroyed home in Shebaa.
IRGC sources tell Al Mayadeen that reports of Iranian missile strikes on northern Iraq are false, calling them rumors spread by enemy-linked media.
Trump: Venezuela airspace should be considered 'closed in its entirety'
AFP: Ukraine behind attack on Russian 'shadow fleet' tankers in Black Sea

UK sending Ukraine custom-built long-range attack drones

  • By Al Mayadeen
  • Source: Agencies
  • 16 May 2023 21:22
4 Min Read

The United Kingdom will be supplying Kiev with custom-built long-range kamikaze drones announced earlier in the week.

  • x
  • Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, left, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, walk in the garden at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence, in Aylesbury, England, May 15, 2023 (AP)
    Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, left, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, walk in the garden at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence, in Aylesbury, England, May 15, 2023 (AP)

British long-range suicide drones, whose provision to Ukraine was announced earlier in the week, have been custom-built for supporting Kiev in the ongoing Ukraine war, The Telegraph reported Tuesday, citing sources in the British Ministry of Defense.

The UK had announced that it was ready to supply the drones in question as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was visiting the nation.

The British newspaper revealed that London would send hundreds of the long-range attack drones, which have a range of over 200 kilometers, to Ukraine, complementing the Storm Shadow missiles, which also have an incredibly long range of up to 500 km, supplied to Kiev last week.

The drones have been custom-built to help Ukraine's war effort, The Telegram said.

The drones were "one-way" and had a "primary goal to carry munitions," defense sources told the newspaper.

"They’ve been rapidly developed and adapted at significantly lower costs than others ... they have a comparable effect to an artillery shell," the sources also said.

Reportedly, the UAVs will be delivered over the coming months.

The UK reportedly promised Zelensky that it would be sending the long-range attack drones on Monday as he goes on a European tour to secure weapons for an upcoming counteroffensive against Russia.

The UK has also promised that it would train Ukrainian pilots this summer and would aid Kiev "hand in hand" in "efforts to work with other countries on providing F-16 jets" to Zelensky's government.

UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace confirmed Thursday that London was sending Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles to Kiev.

Total UK-military aid to Kiev has surpassed £2.3 billion since the start of the Ukrainian Crisis, which makes Britain the second largest supporter of Zelensky's regime after the US.

The UK has also promised that it would train Ukrainian pilots this summer and would aid Kiev "hand in hand" in "efforts to work with other countries on providing F-16 jets" to Zelensky's government.

Furthermore, Sunak stated that Britain will deliver hundreds of air defense missiles and unmanned aerial systems, including long-range attack drones that boast a range of more than 200 Km in the upcoming months.

Although Britain pledged to train Ukrainian pilots and aid the country in its quest to secure F-16, Sunak said that the country itself will not be sending the jets as the Royal Armed Forces do not house F-16s in their arsenal.

The Minister dodged giving a straightforward answer to a question of whether there were any restrictions on the use of the missiles by Kiev by saying that he will not "talk in public" about possible limitations, as this is very sensitive information. The Russian Foreign Ministry slammed London's move as it leads to a serious escalation of tensions.

A day later, Ukraine used two Anglo-French Storm Shadow cruise missiles and one US-made ADM-160 MALD decoy missile to shell Lugansk, the representative office of the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) in the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of issues related to Ukraine's war crimes (JCCC) confirmed on Saturday.

The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed on Saturday that the strikes were carried out "using Storm Shadow missiles supplied to the Kiev regime by the UK, contrary to London's assertions that these weapons would not be used against civilian targets."

The missile attack targeted a polymer manufacturing factory Polipak and a meat processing plant Milam in the city of Lugansk, causing a fire on their premises and damaging nearby residential buildings. Some civilians, including six children, were injured as a result, the ministry added.

According to the Ministry, two Ukrainian military aircraft involved in the shelling, namely a Su-24 bomber and a MiG-29 fighter jet that was escorting it, were shot down by Russian fighter aircraft.

  • United States
  • Storm Shadow
  • Russia
  • United Kingdom
  • Ukraine
  • Drones
Russia & NATO

Russia & NATO

As the Draconian Western-led sanctions on Russia exacerbate the economic crisis worldwide, and as Russian troops gain more ground despite the influx of military aid into Ukraine, exposing US direct involvement in bio-labs spread across Eastern Europe and the insurgence of neo-Nazi groups… How will things unfold?

Most Read

13 elite Israeli troops were wounded in a confrontations in Beit Jinn, Syria.

13 elite Israeli troops wounded in confrontations in southern Syria

  • West Asia
  • 28 Nov 2025
Russia and China are not part of the Resistance Front, but they are playing an important role in building structures to bypass US power and thus facilitate a multipolar and freer world. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

The Resistance Front and BRICS

  • Opinion
  • 29 Nov 2025
Four killed, ten wounded in targeted California shooting in Stockton

Four killed, 10 wounded in 'targeted' California shooting

  • US & Canada
  • 30 Nov 2025
Point-blank killings: 'Israel' executes 2 Palestinian youths in Jenin

Graphic footage: IOF execute 2 Palestinians from point blank in Jenin

  • Politics
  • 27 Nov 2025

Coverage

All
In Five

Read Next

All
US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack speaks during the Concordia Annual Summit in New York, Wednesday, September 24, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Iraqi sources deny US warning of Israeli attack on Lebanon: Exclusive

People walk through a street in the old city of Homs, Syria, Friday, November 21, 2025 (AP)
Politics

US cautions Israeli occupation against escalation in Syria

Members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) arrive at the site where Hamas militants are searching for the remains of captives in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip, Monday, December 1, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Gaza death toll surpasses 70,000 as victims remain under rubble

Pope Leo XIV meets the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch John X Yazigi, left, and spiritual leader of Lebanon's Druze community Sheikh Sami Abi al-Mona in the Martyrs' Square, in Beirut, Monday, December 1, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Pope Leo XIV calls for unity, coexistence during Lebanon visit

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS