UK sending Ukraine custom-built long-range attack drones

• 

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.