On Tuesday, Ukraine struck a chemical plant in Russia using long-range missiles supplied by the UK, according to Kyiv’s military.
The facility, in the Bryansk border region, produces “gunpowder, explosives and rocket fuel” and was hit by Storm Shadow missiles, the Ukrainian General Staff of the Armed Forces said. The UK and France began sending Storm Shadows to Ukraine in 2023.
The attack came just days after the US seemed to pull back on the idea of sending Ukraine its long-range Tomahawk missiles, which Ukraine has suggested could be a game-changer in the conflict.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky travelled to the White House last week in part to try to convince Donald Trump to supply Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles, which have the potential to strike far inside Russia. The missiles could be used to further disrupt oil and energy facilities essential to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war economy.
But Trump appeared to turn down the request, stressing his desire to broker a peace deal, though he did not rule out the possibility entirely.
“Hopefully they won’t need it, hopefully we’ll be able to get the war over without thinking about Tomahawks,” he said, adding: “I think we’re fairly close to that.”
So how do the two missiles stack up?
What are Storm Shadow missiles?
Storm Shadows are an advanced, long-range cruise missile capable of hitting targets up to 190 miles away.
They are launched from aircraft but designed to evade detection by flying low, using a combination of GPS, motion sensors, and terrain-matching systems to reach their targets. Powered by a turbo-jet engine, the 1,300kg weapon travels at speeds of more than 600mph, before a delayed fuse detonates the main warhead.
How Storm Shadows operateEach Storm Shadow missile costs around £700,000, so they are often deployed alongside mass drone attacks that overwhelm air defences.
Ukraine used them to hit Russia’s Black Sea naval headquarters at Sevastopol, in occupied Crimea, in 2023, and has repeatedly launched them at targets inside Russia.
In January, Ukraine said it had used Storm Shadow missiles to strike targets 1,100 km (680 miles) over the border in Russia, including oil storage, refinery, chemical and ammunition plants in the Bryansk, Saratov, Tula and Tatarstan regions.
How do Tomahawks differ?
In contrast to the Storm Shadow, the Tomahawk land attack missile is a long-range cruise missile typically launched from sea, rather than the air.
Tomahawk missiles have a range of 2,500 km (1,500 miles) – notably longer than Storm Shadows – which means they could be used to strike Moscow and other potential targets deep within Russia. They are also more expensive, with an average cost of $1.3 million (£975,000).
Michael Clarke, the former director-general of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) and a visiting professor at King’s College London, said the additional range was the “chief advantage” of the Tomahawk.
“Warhead size is the same for both,” he told The i Paper. “Both are accurate, but the Tomahawk doesn’t need a ship or aircraft launch vehicle to add to its range. It is accurate at 1,500 miles.”
Tomahawk missiles have a range of 1,500 miles, which means they could be used to strike deep inside Russia (Photo: Corbis/Getty)Clarke also said that Tomahawks can be either a deep-battle weapon or a strategic weapon to be used against the enemy homeland, “whereas Storm Shadow is only really a deep strike battlefield weapon”.
However, Sidharth Kaushal, a senior research fellow at RUSI, said it is unclear if the use of Tomahawk missiles would turn the war in Ukraine’s favour.
“The ability to strike targets in depth can be both militarily and economically disruptive but ultimately will not fundamentally alter the situation at the front line,” he said.
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Even if it was supplied with Tomahawk missiles, Ukraine could struggle to make use of them, Kaushal added.
Tomahawks can be launched from ships or submarines, but Ukraine lacks a navy with vessels capable of carrying the large missile, and the US only produces 50 to 70 ground-based launchers a year and has already sent hundreds to the Middle East.
Washington would also be reluctant to supply Kyiv with its latest variant of the missiles as significant numbers would likely be shot down, risking the technology falling into Russian hands, Kaushal said.
Nonetheless, Ukraine gaining access to Tomahawks could make a difference in the “broader strategic sense”, he said.
“Russia views ground-based Tomahawk systems near its borders as a threat to its early warning capability, which, in conjunction with the other capabilities the US can bring to bear in a war, poses major strategic risks,” Kaushal said.
He added that concerns about the US-made missiles being located in areas which would enable strikes on Russia to be conducted with “minimal early warning” could act as a notable “incentive to negotiate more seriously”.
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