Facts

• Ukraine is believed to have started using a new long-range cruise missile delivered from Britain for the first time on Friday in a strike on the city of Luhansk — territory controlled by the pro-Russia Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) since 2014 — that reportedly injured six children and a Russian parliamentarian.^[1]
• Earlier this week, CNN revealed that the UK delivered multiple "Storm Shadow" cruise missiles — that can strike targets as far as 155 miles away — to Ukraine. Ben Wallace, Britain's defense minister, confirmed the shipment on Thursday, describing it as Ukraine's "best chance to defend themselves against Russia’s continued brutality."^[2]
• The delivery makes it the first time Kyiv has received much-sought-after long-range weapons, dramatically increasing its strike range, previously capped at roughly 50 miles with the US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS).^[3]
• Analysts said that Luhansk's distance from the front lines — roughly 60 miles — suggested that Ukraine had used the long-range weaponry. However, Kyiv hasn't commented on the attack, and whether British long-range missiles were, in fact, used hasn't yet been independently confirmed.^[1]
• The Luhansk region was also struck in a further missile attack on Saturday, reportedly striking the village of Yuvileine on the outskirts of Luhansk. There were no reports of civilian casualties at this stage.^[4]
• Meanwhile, Russia's foreign ministry issued a statement condemning's London delivery of the weapons, describing it as "reckless" and "another extremely hostile step by London." It added: "The Russian side reserves the right to take all necessary measures to neutralize the threats that could arise in the event Ukraine utilizes the British missiles."^[5]