deeper hits
French President Emmanuel Macron announced a decision to supply long-range missiles to Ukraine. He spoke on the opening day of the NATO summit in Vilnius.
“I have decided to increase the supply of weapons and equipment to allow the Ukrainians to strike deeper,” Macron said, as reported by Reuters.
According to the French leader, the move was taken to back Ukraine’s counteroffensive. He also asserted that the missiles should be used to defend Ukrainian territory only.
“It’s important to send a signal of support to Ukraine today, to show NATO’s unity, and to make clear that Russia cannot and should not win this war,” Macron commented.
What is Scalp?
Le Monde describes Scalp as an air-to-ground guided missile designed to hit fixed targets such as command posts, ammunition depots, and logistics hubs. It is the French variant of the British Storm Shadow, already in service with the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The missile can reach distances of up to 250 km, with some versions showing ranges of 500 to 700 km, and speeds exceeding 1000 km/h (Mach 0.80).
The weapon traces its origins to the 1990s, developed by Matra and British Aerospace, later produced by MBDA in two versions: Scalp for France and Storm Shadow for Britain.
AFP cited a source in the French Ministry of Armed Forces, noting that the missiles were already in Ukraine. Reuters reported that the first missiles were delivered concurrent with Macron’s announcement. TASS echoed this, stating that France would provide 50 Scalp missiles. It remains a topic of discussion how Ukraine’s forces have used foreign missiles so far.
Earlier in the year, the United Kingdom began delivering Storm Shadow missiles. The British defense minister indicated an export version capable of hitting targets at 200–300 km, with a maximum range around 560 km.
Storm Shadow missiles were used by Ukrainian forces to strike the Chongar bridge connecting the Kherson region and Crimea, an attack noted on the night of June 22. Local authorities reported that these missiles also targeted temporary housing areas on the Arabat Spit in Kherson on June 10. There were further claims that Storm Shadow was employed in Berdyansk on June 2, and Russian officials later claimed Russia shot down a number of these missiles in a subsequent month.
Moscow’s reaction
The Kremlin said the move would complicate the Kiev regime’s situation. Dmitry Peskov, the Russian president’s press secretary, cautioned that it was not yet clear what areas of destruction would be affected and warned that such a decision could have consequences for Ukraine. He later reiterated that the missiles would not alter the overall course of the campaign, but would add new challenges for Kyiv.
Earlier, Russian officials warned of countermeasures. In June, Sergei Shoigu threatened strikes on Ukrainian decision-making centers in response to planned attacks on Russian territory. He referenced information about planned strikes against Crimea using missiles like HIMARS and Storm Shadow, arguing that extending such strikes beyond special military operation areas would draw direct involvement from the United States and Britain and would necessitate counteractions against Ukrainian command centers on Ukrainian soil.