Can Ukraine turn the tide of war with Storm Shadow missiles?

Ukraine is considering using the Storm Shadow long-range cruise missile to target Russian territory as it changes its current war strategy. Waiting for the green signal from the international community. At this point, the big question is, what is this Storm Shadow?

Storm Shadow is a long-range air-launched cruise missile. It was developed in 1994 by UK and France. It was originally built by British Aerospace. The Rostom Shadow Missile is manufactured by MBDA Systems. 'Storm Shadow' is the British name for the weapon, in France it is called SCALP-EG.

It is capable of hitting targets at a distance of about 500 km. And the missile is already attached to Ukrainian warplanes, including the Russian-made Su-24 bomber. which Ukraine received from Russia as part of the former Soviet Union.

The problem, however, is that it is still unclear how Ukraine got permission to export such long-range cruise missiles. Because the Missile Technology Control Regime or MTCR has a ban on the export of a missile with a range of more than 300 km and a payload capacity of 500 kg. Although the warhead of the Storm Shadow missile is less than 500 kg, it violates the MTCR norms for exceeding the limit. As a result, the question remains whether Ukraine will be able to use it.

The MTCR, however, takes decisions through an informal political understanding between member states. As a result its regulations are not always binding. So if Ukraine uses it, it can do so informally with the MTCR.

Of course, there is no opportunity to say out loud that Russia will not consider using their nuclear weapons if Ukraine launches this missile. Because, a few days ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Europe and the United States by showing their nuclear weapons. So it is conceivable that Ukraine's new launch of cruise missiles will push this war to a dire end.

Source: BBC