18:19 29-09-2025

UK’s Promised Nightfall Missiles for Ukraine Still Don’t Exist

© A. Krivonosov

Russian envoy Andrey Kelin says UK pledges to send Nightfall missiles to Ukraine are empty, as the system is still in development and trials won’t begin for months.

London’s promises to supply Ukraine with long-range Nightfall missiles remain little more than rhetoric, Russian Ambassador to the UK Andrey Kelin told RIA Novosti. He stressed that the weapon in question does not yet exist.

At the start of September, London hosted a meeting of the so-called «coalition of the willing», where participants declared readiness to provide Kyiv with long-range strike systems. Later, British Defense Secretary John Healey told Ukrainian media that the possibility of transferring Nightfall tactical ballistic missiles was under consideration.

Kelin, however, pointed out that Britain currently has no such missiles. He explained that the Nightfall project envisions ballistic missiles launched from mobile platforms, capable of hitting targets at distances of more than 600 kilometers. For now, he said, the Ministry of Defence has only planned to announce a tender, while real testing of the system is not expected for at least another 9 to 12 months.