Learn English Through News: Russia Says It Shot Down Seven Storm Shadow Missiles in a Day

Learn English Through News: Russia Says It Shot Down Seven Storm Shadow Missiles in a Day
Russian air defenses shot down seven of Ukraine's newly promised long range Storm Shadow cruise missiles, Moscow's Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

Russia's military "intercepted seven Storm Shadow long range cruise missiles, three HARM anti radar missiles, and seven HIMARS multiple rocket launchers" in a day, the government department said in a statement posted to Telegram. On Monday, Russia said it had shot down a singular Storm Shadow missile.

On Thursday, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace confirmed that the United Kingdom was providing Ukraine with the missiles. The move gave Kyiv what is thought to be its longest range strike capabilities yet.

Without divulging how many missiles would be sent to Ukraine, Wallace told UK politicians that the missiles "are now going into, or are in, the country itself."

"Russia must recognize that its actions alone have led to such systems being provided to Ukraine," Wallace said. The UK had previously indicated it was willing to supply long range capabilities to Kyiv.

The donation of Storm Shadow missiles "will demand an appropriate response from our military," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.

On Monday, London announced it would also equip Ukraine with air defense missiles and attack drones with a range of over 200 kilometers, or 125 miles. Peskov then said that the UK government's choice to supply these new weapons "only leads to further destruction and fighting."
The British Defense Ministry declined to comment on this story.

The Russian Defense Ministry's statement comes as Ukraine's military said it had intercepted all six of Russia's Kinzhal hypersonic missiles fired at the country overnight. Moscow has previously said it is impossible to detect and shoot down a Kinzhal, although Western analysts express some doubt over the missile's true capabilities.

Russia said it had delivered a "concentrated strike with long range air and sea based high precision weapons," and that a Kinzhal missile strike in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, had hit a United States made Patriot anti aircraft missile system.
It is hard to determine whether Russia's statement on Tuesday is a true account, experts say.

Theoretically, Russia does have the ability to shoot down incoming cruise missiles like the Storm Shadow, according to Fabian Hoffmann, a doctoral research fellow at the University of Oslo. However, without visual evidence, it is hard to believe Moscow's account, and there is a track record of Russia's defensive equipment underperforming, he added.

"In principle, it's possible, yes, but I don't trust it," he told Newsweek.

It may be an indicator that the Kremlin wishes to paint a certain picture for its domestic population, David Jordan, co director of the Freeman Air and Space Institute at King's College London told Newsweek. This may be intended to show they "can shoot down these missiles about which so great a fuss has been made," he said.

"If the Russians were to produce convincing evidence, then fair enough, but their track record to date doesn't suggest that they will," he added.