Emmanuel Macron
President Emmanuel Macron announced Tuesday that France will equip Ukraine with SCALP long-range cruise missiles to assist Kyiv’s military in striking targets deep beyond Russian lines.
Arriving at a NATO conference focused on Kyiv’s fight against Moscow’s invasion, Macron announced that Paris will provide the SCALP missile, which London already supplies under the name ‘Storm Shadow’.
Macron stated that the new missile delivery system is intended to let Ukraine strike at Russian occupation forces in-depth during its counteroffensive to reclaim its territory.
The SCALP/Storm Shadow is an Anglo-French weapon with a range of 250 kilometres (155 miles), the longest of any Western weapon delivered to Ukraine thus far, and Britain confirmed in May that a batch of the advanced weaponry will be supplied.
Russia reacted angrily, warning that London risked being drawn directly into the conflict, and some Western allies were fearful that Kyiv may launch strikes against Russia itself.
Macron, on the other hand, hinted that Ukraine had agreed not to deploy SCALP against such targets, adding that it was done in accordance with our doctrine, that is to say, to allow Ukraine to defend its own territory.
Macron did not specify how many missiles will be dispatched, although France is thought to have fewer than 400, according to the specialist defence research DSI.
Also read: Russian Statement On Summit With NATO: “Carefully Monitoring”
