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LONDON — <\/span>British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Monday that the U.K. will help Ukraine<\/a> make its own long-range missiles by sharing classified technical information for British components.<\/p>\n Burnham, who was in Kyiv alongside other international leaders for Ukraine’s Independence Day<\/a>, said defense firm MBDA will release details on U.K.-made parts for the SCALP missile to Ukraine to help the country assemble the weapons. <\/p>\n However, experts say that won’t result in operational missiles soon \u2014 or address Ukraine’s most pressing needs in its war against Russia’s full-scale invasion<\/a>.<\/p>\n Here’s what to know about the missiles and how significant the announcement is for Ukraine:<\/p>\n The SCALP missile is the French-produced version of the U.K.’s Storm Shadow, an air-launched, high-precision missile with a range of more than 250 kilometers (155 miles). Both use shared French and British technology.<\/p>\n Measuring 5.1 meters (16.7 feet,) the missile is hard to detect and is designed to hit fixed or stationary targets such as hardened bunkers and key infrastructure, according to MBDA. The defense firm says the missile uses an advanced navigation system and is exceptionally accurate. <\/p>\n Storm Shadow and SCALP missiles are in service with the British, French and Italian air forces, as well as other export countries. They have been used in conflicts in Iraq, Libya and Syria.<\/p>\n Ukraine is already in talks with France, which recently agreed to help set up assembly lines for the missiles in Ukraine so that Kyiv can produce its own version of the weapons. It is not known how far advanced the plans are, or when such missiles may become operational.<\/p>\n \u201cAny impact \u2026 will in part depend on how quickly Ukrainian-assembled SCALP cruise missiles can be introduced into service,\u201d said Douglas Barrie, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.<\/p>\n Arun Dawson, a researcher at the Freeman Air and Space Institute at King\u2019s College London, said the news won’t help Ukraine through this winter and likely won\u2019t start having an effect until next year, at the earliest. <\/p>\n \u201cWhat Ukraine needs is protection from Russian ballistic missile attacks,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday<\/a> that his country is receiving substantially fewer Patriot defense systems<\/a>, even as Russian ballistic attacks are increasing. The shortfall is particularly serious because the United States and European partners are struggling to expand production. <\/p>\n What a SCALP missile can do, Dawson said, is equip Ukraine with deep strike offensive ability. \u201cYou can use it to take out the Russian sites from which they are launching these ballistic missiles,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Matthew Savill, director of military sciences at London’s Royal United Services Institute, noted that Ukrainian development of its own ballistic and cruise missiles will complement the mass of firepower it can launch using drones, which are relatively slow and not that stealthy.<\/p>\n A weapon like a SCALP missile \u201chas a sophisticated warhead and strikes the target at a velocity that means it can penetrate hardened structures and destroy buried targets in a way a slower drone without such a warhead is unable to do, at present,\u201d Savill said.<\/p>\n The British announcement on Monday drew ire from Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused the U.K. of \u201cfanning the flame\u201d of the war on Kyiv\u2019s side \u2014 a claim Burnham swiftly dismissed.<\/p>\n \u201cWho started the fire?\u201d Burnham asked reporters Monday.<\/p>\n