UK sending Ukraine long-range cruise missiles

British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said on Thursday that the UK is sending Ukraine long-range cruise missiles to help push back Russian forces.

Wallace told lawmakers in the House of Commons that Britain is donating Storm Shadow missiles. He didn't say how many are being sent or whether they have already arrived in Ukraine.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged in February that Britain would be the first country to give Ukraine the longer-range weapons that it has sought from Western allies.

The missiles give Ukraine capacity to strike well behind the front lines, including in Russia-occupied Crimea.

UK media reported that Ukraine has pledged not to use the missiles to attack Russia itself.

Wallace said the missiles would be used to push back Russian forces in "Ukrainian sovereign territory." He said UK support for Ukraine is "responsible, calibrated, coordinated and agile."