Britain authorizes transfer of classified data to Ukraine for SCALP missile production

The United Kingdom has authorized defense company MBDA to disclose classified information about British components of the SCALP missile to Ukraine.

This was announced by the government in London.

The transferred data will allow Ukraine and France to advance in establishing SCALP assembly lines on Ukrainian territory. SCALP is the French version of the British Storm Shadow missile; both systems share common French and British technologies.

On the day this decision was published, new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham is visiting Kyiv for the first time. He will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and take part in a “coalition of the willing” meeting.

Earlier, Western media reported that British long-range drones had for the first time been used to strike targets on Russian territory. In response to this information, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that Moscow “has the right to regard Britain’s direct participation in strikes on Russia as participation in the war, with all the ensuing consequences.”

The day before, the British press also reported that Russia had recalled its diplomatic representative to the United Kingdom, Andrei Kelin, after seven years of service in London. The Russian embassy stated that relations with Britain had “deteriorated to an unprecedentedly low level.”