Ukraine war: Counteroffensive delayed, UK sends 'Storm Shadow' missiles, Trump calls for peace

London has said it will supply Ukraine with "Storm Shadow" cruise missiles - something Kyiv has requested repeatedly.

The rockets have a range of over 250km, according to the manufacturer. To put that into perspective, Himars missiles given to Ukraine by the US can only hit targets 80km away. 

Some have expressed concern that supplying long-range weapons could escalate tensions with Russia by enabling Ukraine to strike deeper within its territory. 

However, Ukrainian officials insist they would not use such missiles to hit targets within Russia.

Storm Shadows will give Ukraine the "best chance" of defending itself and allow it "push back Russian forces", UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said.

But he warned the missiles' range was "not in the same league" as Russia's - with some of Moscow's weapons able to reach much further. 

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday Moscow would make an "appropriate" military response if Storm Shadows were given to Ukrainian forces. 

Ukraine's President has said his country’s much-anticipated counter-offensive needs more time to prepare. 

In an interview with the BBC, Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed it would be unacceptable to launch an assault now because it would cost too many lives. 

“With (what we have) we can go forward and be successful,” he said in the interview broadcast on Thursday. 

“But we’d lose a lot of people. I think that’s unacceptable,” he was quoted as saying. “So we need to wait. We still need a bit more time.” 

A Ukrainian fightback against Russia's invasion has been expected for weeks. 

Ukraine is gearing up for the assault, having received advanced Western weapons, including tanks and air defences, and training for its troops.

Zelenskyy’s remarks could be a red herring to