Britain is expected to supply Storm Shadow missiles for use by Ukraine on targets in Russia now that the US president, Joe Biden, has agreed to do the same for the similar American long-range Atacms weapon.
Keir Starmer said at the G20 summit that the UK recognised it needed to "double down" on its support for Ukraine, while diplomatic sources briefed they expected other European countries to follow the US lead.
The prime minister said that while he was "not going to get into operational details" he recognised the need to do more to help Ukraine, whose electricity network was seriously damaged by a wave of Russian bombing on Sunday.
"I've been really clear for a long time now, we need to double down. We need to make sure Ukraine has what is necessary for as long as necessary, because we cannot allow Putin to win this war," Starmer said.
Russia, however, accused the west of escalation and said that Biden risked adding "fuel to the fire" in Ukraine. While the president-elect, Donald Trump, remained silent on the issue, his son Donald Jr accused the military industrial complex of wanting to get "world war three going".
Storm Shadow missiles have a range of about 150 miles, similar to the Atacms, and have in the past been given to Kyiv by the UK and France to strike targets within Ukraine's internationally recognised borders.
But the US retained an effective veto on their use because it supplies a guidance system. Repeated lobbying by the UK had failed to shift the US position, which began to soften only after the election victory of Trump.
Ukraine wants to be able to strike barracks, fuel and logistics hubs, and airbases deeper inside Russia to blunt Moscow's relentless attacks on their country. Russia, by contrast, is able to strike targets anywhere in Ukraine.
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