UK to cross the red line before USA does it by shipping Harpoon missiles to Kyiv

London is actively discussing an opportunity to send 240-kilometre range Harpoon missiles and 400-kilometre Storm Shadow missiles to Kyiv.

According to The Times columnist George Grylls, who refers to sources in Ukraine's defence circles, Kyiv plans to use the missiles to strike targets inside the Crimea. 

Sources in Ukraine's Defence Ministry confirmed that Kyiv was working on such a scenario, the newspaper said. Negotiations are currently underway to specify the number of missiles that the UK could send to Ukraine. The parties conduct such discussions despite concerns that cross-border strikes could escalate the conflict, The Times said. 

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Western longer-range weapons would enable the Armed Forces of Ukraine to strike Russian military facilities in the depths of the occupied territories, i.e. in the Crimea.

As a result of Zelensky's visit to the UK, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed that London was ready to deliver longer-range weapons to Ukraine. No other details were reported. Sunak did not exclude a possibility to supply fighter jets to Ukraine as well. 

• Harpoon anti-ship missiles have a range of 150 miles (approximately 240 kilometers). They can be adjusted to strike ground targets.
• Storm Shadow aircraft missiles are capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 350 miles (approximately 560 kilometres).

It appears that the UK may go farther than the USA at this point as Washington supplies shorter-range projectiles.

Earlier it was reported that the United States would send military assistance to Ukraine worth 2.175 billion dollars. The package will include high-precision missiles and HAWK anti-aircraft missile systems, as well as other ammunition and weapons. Later, Pentagon officials indicated that the United States did not prohibit the Ukrainian authorities from using long-range projectiles that were included in the military aid package to strike targets inside the Crimea. 

The Russian Foreign Ministry warned that the United States would cross the "red line" and become a party to the conflict should Washington start supplying longer-range missiles to Ukraine.