U.K. Pledges 'Hundreds' of Long Range Air Defense Missiles to Ukraine

The United Kingdom will send "hundreds" of both air defense missiles and long-range attack drones to Ukraine as Kyiv bolsters its military aid in preparation for a long-expected counteroffensive.

The U.K. will furnish Ukraine with air defense missiles and unmanned aerial systems, including military drones with a range of more than 200 kilometers, or 125 miles, London said on Monday.

This coincided with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arriving in the U.K. after a flying visit to several European countries, meeting British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the U.K. leader's country estate, Chequers. During his brief European tour, several of Ukraine's Western allies, including France and Germany, promised Ukraine fresh military aid packages ahead of Kyiv's planned counteroffensive.

The new air defense missiles and drones "will all be delivered over the coming months," Downing Street said in a press release, to "support Ukraine over the coming months in their anticipated military surge to counter Russian force."

The British Defense Ministry and Number 10 declined to give further details about these new weapons committed to Ukraine. It is not known how many "hundreds" of air defense missiles and drones will reach Ukraine, nor which specific systems will be chosen.

"The identity of the equipment supplied will be a topic of great interest, as well as how it performs," military expert David Hambling suggested on Monday.

"Unlike other allies, the U.K. is generally vague about exactly what kit is being supplied," he told Newsweek, adding that the U.K. could look to "acquire equipment from third parties—likely Russian origin—to aid air defense."

The U.K. does not have ready supplies of equipment "it can easy transfer to Ukraine off-the-shelf," Hambling argued.

The U.K.'s decision to provide a host of long-range capabilities to Kyiv in recent days marks a tipping point in Western aid packages for Ukraine, according to Fabian Hoffmann, a doctoral research fellow at the University of Oslo, Norway.

"I really think we're getting to the point where we are providing Ukraine, in principle, with the types of weapon systems they need, not just to defend and stabilize the frontline, but also to effectively push back," he told Newsweek on Monday. "So I think that is a really significant development."

But the number of missiles and drone systems the U.K. will provide to Ukraine is key, he added, saying: "Quantity has a quality of its own, and that's certainly the case in high intensity, modern warfare."

The British government announced last week it would send an undisclosed number of long-range cruise Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine, which have the longest range of any missiles offered so far to Kyiv by its Western backers.

On Thursday, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told British lawmakers that the missiles "are now going into, or are in, the country itself."

Russia has since claimed that Ukraine has used the Storm Shadow missiles against targets in the eastern Donbas region. On Monday, Moscow's defense ministry said it had intercepted a Storm Shadow cruise missile, but did not elaborate further.

Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said that the British government's decision to supply these new weapons "only leads to further destruction and fighting."

But these weapons mark a "very substantial development" because they allow Ukraine to access targets much further behind the front lines, Hoffmann said. Experts previously told Newsweek that the Storm Shadow missiles, with an estimated range of 155 miles, will allow Ukraine to strike hardened or underground targets, as well as command centers, ammunition depots and supply lines.

Although the details of the drones are not yet known, they are likely to have a substantially smaller warhead than the cruise missiles, Hoffmann predicted. A cheaper alternative to a cruise missile, they "simply cannot pack the same punch," lacking the same "explosive power" compared to the likes of the Storm Shadow, he said.

"The Storm Shadow will likely be reserved for really high value targets that are difficult to engage with other weapons systems due to their fortified nature," Hoffmann said, whereas the drones can still cause "very substantial damage" on less fortified targets behind the frontlines.