Media named the reason for the suspension of London's deliveries of Storm Shadow missiles to Kiev

The United Kingdom has stopped supplying long-range Storm Shadow missiles to Kiev due to a shortage of supplies. The Times wrote about it on November 17, citing sources in the country's Defense Ministry.

"Labor's reluctance to do so is likely due to the fact that the UK's stockpile has reached a level below which military chiefs are not prepared to go below, as a certain amount must remain in reserve to protect the United Kingdom's own interests," the publication said.

According to other sources of the publication, the British authorities fear that the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) may not use the transferred weapons effectively.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that no official authorization for strikes deep inside Russia has been announced, Gazeta.Ru adds.

Earlier, on November 9, The Guardian newspaper reported on the deterioration of relations between Ukraine and the UK. It was specified that this happened immediately after the Labor Party led by Keir Starmer (the current Prime Minister of the country) came to power in London and suspended new deliveries of Storm Shadow missiles to the AFU. In addition, the Kiev authorities noticed that Starmer has never once made a visit to Kiev since his election.

On October 27, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Russian Defense Ministry was developing a response to possible strikes with long-range weapons on Russian territory. He expressed hope that NATO countries had heard his warning about the possible consequences.

Back in September, Putin emphasized that facilitating Ukraine's use of weapons to strike deep into Russia would be perceived as direct involvement of Western countries in the conflict. The possibility of lifting the restrictions was one of the topics of talks between current US President Joe Biden and Zelensky later that month, but the Pentagon later confirmed that the ban was still in place due to the risk of escalation.

Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine amid Russia's special operation to defend Donbass, which began on February 24, 2022. The decision to conduct it was taken by the Russian president because of the aggravation of the situation in the region due to the increased shelling by Ukrainian troops.