UK's Brimstone Precision-Guided Missiles Reaching Ukraine Within Weeks To Help Fight Russia

The U.K.'s Brimstone precision-guided missiles are heading to Ukraine in order to help the country fight the Russian invasion, media reports said Thursday.

The move comes as part of an expanding supply of weapons to the war-torn country. However, it remains unclear if the missiles being supplied are intended as anti-ship weapons or for attacking ground targets, or both, the Drive reported.

The Brimstone, produced by pan-European missile manufacturer MBDA, is available in air-launched and ground-launched versions. It also has capabilities of being launched from a ship.

James Heappey, the U.K.’s armed forces minister, confirmed “hundreds” of Brimstone missiles will be sent to Ukraine, with the first package arriving in the “next few weeks.”

Meanwhile, The Times reported the Brimstones being supplied are anti-ship weapons; however, this was not confirmed by Heappey. Previously, Brimstone was offered as a missile that can be mounted on different surface vessels and used against bigger vessels, such as a large amphibious landing ship.

A senior colleague of Heappey, U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, said the Brimstone missiles “will be used over the ground,” suggesting anti-shipping was not the focus. Wallace added an anti-ship missile solution was being considered separately.

The war in Ukraine is now in its 64th day, with thousands being killed and millions displaced.

Russia has constantly continued its offensive against Ukraine, with fresh attacks being launched in Kyiv on Thursday again. The missile strikes in Kyiv came as UN chief Antonio Guterres was visiting the city. A loud blast rocked the Ukrainian capital, sending emergency vehicles scrambling toward a residential area. The attack took place less than an hour after Guterres and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held a joint press conference some 2 miles from the place of impact.

Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba denounced the attack as a "heinous act of barbarism," while Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said it was "an attack on the security of the Secretary General and on world security."

Later, at the news conference with Zelensky, Guterres admitted: "Let me be very clear: the Security Council failed to do everything in its power to prevent and end this war. And this is the source of great disappointment, frustration and anger."