For the first time, the Russian armed forces intercepted the British-French Storm Shadow long-range missile. Information about this is published in the summary of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.

At the same time, according to the LPR representative office in the JCCC, on the morning of May 15, Ukrainian formations attacked Lugansk with the help of two Storm Shadows. Presumably, the territory of the former aviation school of navigators, where residential buildings and the recently restored building of the cadet corps are located, came under fire.

This is not the first time that the Ukrainian Air Force has used the Storm Shadow to strike civilian targets in Luhansk. The weapons supplied to the Kyiv regime were used on May 13. A civilian born in 1943 and a 51-year-old man were injured.

On May 12, Storm Shadow was used to strike at the Polypak polymer product enterprise and the Milam meat processing plant in Luhansk. As a result, six children were injured. The Ukrainian Su-24 bomber, which fired the missiles, and the MiG-29 fighter covering it were destroyed by fighters of the Russian Aerospace Forces.

The transfer of Storm Shadow to the Kyiv regime was announced on May 11 by British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace. According to the head of the Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom, the use of Storm Shadow will allow Ukrainian troops to "push back" Russian units from the "sovereign territory of Ukraine."

"The Storm Shadow is a high-precision, long-range strike missile with a conventional warhead. It will complement the long-range systems already delivered (to Kyiv. - RT), including HIMARS and Harpoon missiles, as well as Ukrainian Neptune cruise missiles and long-range weapons previously transferred to the country, "Wallace said, speaking in the British Parliament.

On May 12, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked London for the transfer of Storm Shadow. According to the American television channel CNN, British-French missiles should help the Armed Forces of Ukraine launch a counteroffensive, which has been talked about so much in recent months.

At the same time, as noted by CNN sources from among high-ranking Western officials, London received guarantees from Kiev that Storm Shadow can only be used on objects in territories that belonged to Ukraine before 2014. The range of the British-French missile exceeds 250 km.

As the press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov said earlier, the transfer of the Storm Shadow to the Armed Forces of Ukraine will require an "adequate response" from the Russian military.

In turn, the Russian Foreign Ministry noted that the UK has demonstrated its readiness to "cross any borders and transfer the conflict to a fundamentally new level in terms of destruction and human casualties."

In this regard, Moscow reserves the right to take measures to neutralize the threats that may arise from the use of cruise missiles by the Kyiv regime.

"All responsibility for the consequences of London's destructive activity lies entirely with the authors and executors of this reckless step," the Russian Foreign Ministry stressed earlier.

Military experts spoke about the danger of equipping the Armed Forces of Ukraine with Storm Shadow and methods of countering British-French RT missiles.

- What is Storm Shadow and why is it dangerous?

Retired Colonel Military Observer Viktor Litovkin:

- Storm Shadow is a serious weapon, like any modern cruise missile. The missile is capable of traveling hundreds of kilometers on the way to the target and carrying a warhead weighing about 450 kg. The range of the Storm Shadow exceeds 250 km and can reach 600 km.

  • Storm Shadow Rocket
  • AFP
  • © RABIH MOGHRABI

The rocket is designed for use from aircraft. The carrier of the Storm Shadow can be any aircraft that is equipped with the appropriate attachment points and guidance system. Ukraine still has Soviet Su-24, Su-27 and MiG-29. All these aircraft can be modified for the use of this missile, and in a very short time. Apparently, this is what our adversary is doing now with the help of the British.

If desired, Storm Shadow can be "dried", that is, used from ground launchers. Whether Kiev has them now is still unclear.

This British-French missile is unobtrusive. It flies at low altitudes, is able to go around the terrain, which objectively complicates the likelihood of its detection by radar stations. Storm Shadow is designed to strike ammunition depots, fuel and lubricant depots, command posts and troop concentrations.

True, now we see that these high-precision weapons are used by the Zelensky regime on residential buildings. This is done to intimidate civilians, cause panic, demoralize people, sow uncertainty that Russia will be able to protect them.

Dmitry Drozdenko, editor-in-chief of the Internet portal of the Arsenal of the Fatherland publication:

- Most likely, Kiev received a modification of the Storm Shadow, which does not fall under the export range restrictions fixed in what is called the missile technology control regime. According to him, states cannot transfer to anyone aircraft capable of traveling more than 300 km. I draw this conclusion based on the analysis of the wreckage of Storm Shadow in Lugansk.

The Storm Shadow is a smart rocket, in fact, the European equivalent of the Tomahawk. In flight, it uses satellite navigation, scans the underlying surface, can maneuver and strike from different directions. The carriers are, respectively, the European aircraft Typhoon, Dassault Rafale, Mirage 2000 and Tornado.

I think that the British helped the Ukrainians convert Soviet-made aircraft, including the Su-27, to use the Storm Shadow. There is news that the UK will open a training center for Ukrainian pilots, but the prospects for the transfer of British and other Western aircraft are still very vague. Do not forget that for their operation, Kiev will have to build new runways and solve a lot of problems with maintenance.

  • Fragment of Storm Shadow with serial number
  • RIA Novosti

The danger, it seems to me, is that the Storm Shadow can be adapted to be launched from the ground in approximately the same way as the Americans did, adapting gliding bombs for launches from HIMARS installations (GLSDB guided missiles. - RT).

Military expert Alexei Leonkov:

- Storm Shadow is made using technologies of reduced radar visibility. This is reflected both in its aerodynamics and in the widespread use of composites. In Lugansk, the Storm Shadow was used together with the ADM-160B MALD missile, which provided jamming throughout the flight, thus making it difficult to detect and intercept.

The enemy took advantage of the fact that Luhansk is a rear city and, apparently, was not tightly covered by air defense systems. In any case, Storm Shadow is a serious threat to the Russian Federation.

It confidently flies more than 250 km, and we should have no illusions that the enemy will not use it in other cities, including Kursk, Orel, Voronezh, Rostov-on-Don, Bryansk. Belarusian cities, including Minsk, may also be under attack. Storm Shadow is also capable of working on sea targets.

Many of the aircraft remaining in Kyiv's possession were converted into NATO missiles. As a result, the Ukrainian Su-24 is capable of carrying two Storm Shadows, and the MiG-29 is capable of carrying one ADM-160B MALD. For use from the ground, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are capable of using the launchers of their ground complex "Grom-2". However, this requires not aviation, but marine modifications of the Storm Shadow. With this application, the launch range can be significantly longer than from an aircraft.

- How can our armed forces counter Storm Shadow?

Dmitry Drozdenko, editor-in-chief of the Internet portal of the Arsenal of the Fatherland publication:

- Storm Shadow has an aerodynamic shape, which really makes the rocket a difficult target. The EPR (effective scattering area. - RT) of Storm Shadow may be less than that of the so-called stealth aircraft.

Considering that it, like the Caliber, flies at an altitude of about several tens of meters, it is likely that the radar will fix it only on approach. To exclude such a scenario, it is necessary to actively use AWACS (long-range radar detection and control) aircraft.

Retired Colonel Military Observer Viktor Litovkin:

- In my opinion, the strikes on Lugansk only indicate that Bandera did not dare to launch Storm Shadow at our combat positions, as they understood that it was likely to be intercepted. I don't see any other point in striking a peaceful city or residential buildings with these expensive weapons.

All our air defense systems can fight the Storm Shadow, including the Osa-AKM, which is not the most modern at first glance. The most important thing is the issuance of target designation, vigilance on combat duty. There are no invulnerable missiles. Moreover, Storm Shadow is subsonic, any anti-aircraft missile launched in time will catch up with it.

  • The aftermath of the Storm Shadow explosion in Luhansk, May 15
  • © Representation of the LPR in the JCCC

Military expert Alexei Leonkov:

- With all its advantages, Storm Shadow is vulnerable to our air defense systems. First of all, these are the Tor-M2, Buk-M2 and Buk-M3 complexes. The fact that the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation shot down the first missile suggests that we were able to understand how to deal with this new threat.

Retired Colonel Anatoly Matviychuk:

- The use of Storm Shadow caused a great resonance. First, this weapon struck a peaceful city. Secondly, in principle, it must be taken very seriously, if only because of its long range and powerful warhead.

At the same time, it must be borne in mind that the rocket was created about two decades ago. The characteristics of the Storm Shadow are well known to us, and all modern air defense systems, with the required level of coherence and interaction with electronic intelligence, are capable of shooting down the Storm Shadow. These are "Buki", "Torah", "Shells", S-300, S-400.

It seems to me that the strikes on Lugansk were missed due to lack of coherence. The debut interception of Storm Shadow allows us to conclude that the work on the bugs began to bear fruit. Perhaps now the carriers of these missiles will also be shot down, and before a combat launch.

An important factor that cannot be ignored is the cost of Storm Shadow, which exceeds $1 million.