Ukraine cold to UK for not sending more Storm Shadow missiles, Pentagon quickly "removes barriers" to help Kiev

Ukrainian officials have been cold towards the British Prime Minister’s administration for not providing more Storm Shadow long-range missiles. Pictured: An aircraft loaded with Storm Shadow missiles. (Source: forces)

Ukraine's frustration stems from Britain's failure to provide additional long-range Storm Shadow missiles.

In addition, Mr Starmer, after four months in power, has yet to visit Ukraine, unlike his predecessor Rishi Sunak. Former Prime minister He arrived in Kiev a month after taking office.

A senior official in the administration of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Mr Starmer's possible visit would be meaningless unless Britain made a commitment on missiles. "It makes no sense for him to come (to Ukraine) as a guest," the Ukrainian official quipped. Travel".

In another development related to the situation in Ukraine, several US officials revealed on November 8 that the administration of President Joe Biden, in its final months in office, has decided to allow US defense contractors to Ukraine to maintain and repair weapons provided by the Pentagon. This move marks an important policy shift to support Kiev in its conflict with Moscow.

The contractors will be deployed in small groups and far from the front lines, said a US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. They will not engage in combat but will help ensure that US-supplied equipment “can be repaired quickly if damaged and maintained as needed.”

Since Russia launched the campaign military In Ukraine in 2022, Washington provided Kiev with tens of billions of dollars in weapons. Yet Ukraine either had to ship its US-supplied weapons abroad for overhaul or rely on videoconferencing and other creative solutions to repair those systems at home.

Past limitations have sometimes slowed repairs and have become increasingly difficult as the US has supplied Ukraine with more sophisticated systems, such as F-16 fighter jets and Patriot air defense missiles.

The move is the latest loosening of restrictions by the Biden administration, which is seeking to help Ukraine defend itself in its more than 2,5-year-old conflict with Moscow without directly engaging Russia, one of the world's largest nuclear-armed nations. world.

Another US official stressed that the decision would force the Pentagon to follow the path of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which has deployed U.S. contractors in Ukraine. However, the U.S. military will not be required to protect contractors in Ukraine, and issues such as safety and risk mitigation will be the responsibility of the companies that contract with the Pentagon.

The official confirmed that some US defense contractors had previously traveled to Ukraine in small groups to maintain weapons not provided by the Pentagon.

However, it is still unclear how long the above policy change will last when Mr. Biden's time in office is very short.

President-elect Donald Trump has criticized the scale of Washington’s military and financial support for Kiev and vowed to quickly end the Russia-Ukraine war, but has not offered a solution. Trump is scheduled to take office on January 20, 1.