The UK government has announced it would send Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine. The country becomes the first to provide longer-range weapons to Kyiv.

The announcement was made in the House of Commons by UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace. The decision follows repeated pleas from Ukraine for more weapons from the West.

Wallace said the missiles would allow Ukraine to push back Russian forces based on Ukrainian sovereign territory. "Today I can confirm that the UK is donating Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine," The donation of these weapons systems gives Ukraine the best chance to defend themselves against Russia's continued brutality." said Defence Secretary Ben Wallace.

The weapons will give Ukraine new capabilities as it prepares a counter-offensive against Russia. The Storm Shadow cruise missile has a range of over 250km, according to the manufacturer.

By contrast, the US-supplied Himars missiles used by Ukraine only have a range of around 80 km.

The missiles are fired from aircraft, so the longer range means Ukrainian pilots will be able to stay further from the frontlines. Once launched, the Storm Shadow drops to low altitude to avoid detection by enemy radar, before latching onto its target with an infra-red seeker.

Earlier this year, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov insisted longer-range missiles would not be used to attack targets within Russia itself.

The Storm Shadow missile has been operated by both British and French air forces and has been used previously in the Gulf, Iraq and Libya. The British-supplied missiles can only be fired by aircraft, but French missiles can be fired from ships and submarines.