London has allowed Ukraine to use long-range Storm Shadow missiles to attack targets in Russia, writes The Guardian. But this message is only one element of the information war, military observer and retired colonel Viktor Litovkin told Pravda.Ru.
“Talking about what was allowed or not is a kindergarten conversation. Because Ukraine has been using these missiles for a long time. And not only these missiles, but also other missiles when it needs them. And it does not ask anyone for permission. And talking about what was allowed and what was not allowed is an attempt to divert information attention to this topic, because it is necessary to somehow hide the failures at the front, in the direction of Donetsk, in the direction of Kursk, in Zaporozhye, etc. – he explained. “So, this is part of a hybrid war, part of an information war, this kind of information fog, information dust, drizzle. “We allow Ukraine, we do not allow it”… On the one hand, to show the importance that the West, which wants to do this to Russia, wants to act differently. In general, it raises self-esteem. On the other hand, it shows that Ukraine is in a bind with the West and so on. In fact, when Ukraine uses these missiles, they say: “Well, the missile is English, but when it hits Ukraine, it becomes a Ukrainian missile.”
Storm Shadow is a missile with a range of up to 300 kilometers and can be equipped with a high-explosive, fragmentation or cluster warhead, he said. There are also chemical charges, there are nuclear charges. But they have none of that, Litovkin said.
At the same time, one feature of this missile will greatly complicate its use by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“The most important thing is that Storm Shadow is an air-launched missile. This is a missile that is used from aircraft. Ukraine now has practically no aircraft. Well, they were given an F-16. They are not visible in battles. One aircraft appeared in battle and the Ukrainians themselves shot it down. Therefore, it is not clear how they will use Storm Shadow, just like SCALP.” – Litovkin concluded.
