As part of a new impressive military aid package, the United Kingdom will send 14 Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine to bolster the country’s war effort, U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed in a call with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday, according to BBC.
The U.K.’s support was “always strong” and was “now impenetrable,” Sunak said and added that the British Army’s main battle tank, would help Kyiv’s forces “push Russian troops back.”
The move makes the U.K. the first western power to supply the Ukrainians with main battle tanks, The Guardian notes.
Besides the Challenger 2 squadron, the package, according to Sky News security and defense editor Deborah Haynes, will also include:
- Eight large self-propelled AS90 guns + more on various stages of readiness (a total of around 30, according to BBC);
- 100s more armored vehicles, including Bulldog;
- dozens of drones;
- another 100,000 artillery rounds;
- 100s more “sophisticated missiles”;
- spare parts to support up to 100 Ukrainian tanks and armored fighting vehicles.
Britain will begin training the Ukrainian Armed Forces to use the tanks and guns in the coming days, according to BBC.
The Ukrainian president on Twitter thanked the British leadership and people for “this powerful contribution to our common victory over tyranny,” pointing out that “tanks, APCs and artillery are exactly what Ukraine needs to restore its territorial integrity.”
“While the donation alone is not considered a game-changer, it is hoped that the U.K.’s move will inspire other countries to donate more modern equipment to help Ukraine,” BBC remarks and quotes Zelensky as saying that it “will not only strengthen us [Ukraine] on the battlefield but also send the right signal to other partners.”
