France to give Ukraine Storm Shadow missiles

France has decided to give Ukraine SCALP missiles (the French name for Storm Shadow), which have a range of at least 250 kilometers (around 155 miles).

Le Monde reports that French President Emmanuel Macron announced the news on the first day of the NATO summit in Vilnius. “I think that today it is important for us to send a signal of support for Ukraine, for NATO unity,” he emphasized.

This will make France the second country to provide Ukraine the weapon. The United Kingdom has already provided long-range Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine.

According to Interfax, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov called France’s decision to hand over the missiles “erroneous,” adding that it was “fraught with consequences for the Ukrainian side because, naturally, it will force us to take countermeasures.” “Once again, we reiterate our principled approach with regard to such decisions: these decisions are not capable of influencing the course of events within the framework of the SVO. They can only exacerbate the plight of the Ukrainian Kyiv regime,” he said.