Stocks Slump As Ukraine Fires UK Storm Shadow Missiles Into Russia

Ukraine’s armed forces fired British cruise missiles at military targets inside Russia for the first time, a Western official familiar with the matter said.

As Bloomberg reports, the strikes using Storm Shadow missiles were approved in response to Russia deploying North Korean troops in its war against Ukraine, a move by Moscow that the UK government considered to be an escalation of the conflict, according to the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

The Telegraph reports that residents in the village of Marino, Kursk, found fragments from a Storm Shadow missile on Wednesday.

As a reminder, Storm Shadow missiles have been used by Ukraine inside its own territory for some time but Kiev now appears to have been given permission to strike targets inside Russia.

The missiles carry a bunker-busting warhead, and flies low and fast to evade air defenses.

British Storm Shadow missiles have a range of 150 miles.

The reaction across markets is less notable than yesterday’s with stocks seeing the biggest impact (lower)…

Treasury yields are down a little, gold up a little and bitcoin extending gains.

Reuters is reporting that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said his country will not rest until every last Russian soldier is ejected from its territory – based on the borders it gained after the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union.

This will not end well…