By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-24 15:33:35 | Updated at 2024-11-24 17:55:26
2 hours ago
A top Russian general, along with 500 North Korean soldiers, have allegedly been killed by British Storm Shadow missiles in a devastating attack.
The strike launched by Ukraine on November 20 wiped out Lt-Gen Valery Solodchuk and also resulted with 18 Putin officers reported lost, with a further 18 wounded, it has been claimed.
Earlier reports suggested that a Kim Jong-un general had also been left injured in the attack as he commanded troops backing Vladimir Putin's Ukraine invasion.
The strike carried out by Ukraine was the first time UK Storm Shadow missiles had been used blast targets deep inside Russia.
It is understood that the pinpoint missiles had hit a Putin command post and military facility with the scale of Russian losses now alleged to be enormous.
Russian authorities have not yet confirmed losses which would be grievous to both Russia and North Korea if confirmed, and the reports are yet to be independently verified.
The Storm Shadows were targeted on November 20 at an underground military facility in Maryino on a Tsarist estate, in Kursk region.
New footage shows a Storm Shadow missile involved in the attack as it flew towards its target, it is claimed.
The strike launched by Ukraine on November 20 wiped out top Russian general Lt-Gen Valery Solodchuk
This is the moment missiles believed to be British Storm Shadow missiles struck inside Russia
The strike carried out by Ukraine was the first time UK Storm Shadow missiles had been used blast targets deep inside Russia. One image following the attack showed a written indentation on a chunk of metal reading: 'Storm Shadow'
Images shared on social media showed what appeared to be fragments of a British Storm Shadow missile in Marino, Kursk, on November 20
If true, the losses may explain Putin's furious reaction - firing a new Oreshnik hypersonic missile at Dnipro, and his public boasts he had a new super weapon which was unstoppable by the West.
Moscow also threatened that the use by Ukraine of NATO-supplied missiles meant Putin could legitimately hit back with nuclear missiles.
The Russian officers reportedly killed are from Putin's Southern and Eastern Military Districts.
The strike carried out by Ukraine was the first time UK Storm Shadow missiles had been used blast targets deep inside Russia.
US-based Global Defense Corp reported that 500 North Korean soldiers were killed alongside Russian officers, however, there was no independent confirmation.
Some 10,000-plus North Koreans are believed to have been moved across Siberia to the war zone after being ordered to serve Putin by their leader Kim Jong Un.
They are either currently fighting for Putin or about to be deployed.
Kim's decision to inject North Korean soldiers into Russia to help in Putin's bloody war has raised concerns among Kyiv's allies who worry that the move may exacerbate what is already Europe's largest conflict since WWII.
US-based Global Defense Corp reported that 500 North Korean soldiers were killed alongside Russian officers, however, there was no independent confirmation (file photo)
South Koreans watch Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin during a recent meeting
Britain's Storm Shadow missiles are capable of dodging air defences - making them a nightmare attack weapon for their enemy
The Storm Shadow missile attack last week hit the sanatorium of the Russian Presidential Affairs Directorate in Maryino, a former Tsarist estate, say reports.
Britain's Storm Shadow missiles are capable of dodging air defences - making them a nightmare attack weapon for their enemy.
The £800,000 rockets use GPS technology to precisely blast targets, and can travel through the air at 600mph.
Storm Shadow missiles have already been used by Ukraine inside its own territory for some time, but Kyiv now appears to have been granted permission to use the weapons to strike within Russia.
Storm Shadow - called Scalp by the French - is a weapon equipped with a navigation system that once launched, descends to a low altitude to avoid detection before locking onto its target using an infra-red seeker.
On the final approach, the missile climbs to a higher altitude to maximise the chances of hitting the target.
On impact, it penetrates the target before a delayed fuse detonates the main warhead.
British Storm Shadow missiles have a range of up to 180miles, meaning Ukraine could now have the ability to strike targets inside Russia.
The UK first confirmed it would supply Ukraine with Storm Shadow missiles in May last year, for use on Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine.
Then defence secretary Ben Wallace had touted that the weapons would give Ukraine the 'best chance' of defending itself.
It comes after outgoing US President Joe Biden gave war-torn Ukraine permission to use long-range missiles to strike deep inside Russia last week.
The decision was a major US policy shift and comes as Biden is about to leave office and President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to limit American support for Ukraine and end the war as soon as possible.
