The U.K. agreed to send 12 Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine, with the first units of armored vehicles to be delivered immediately.
“A group of four Challenger 2 tanks will be delivered to eastern Europe immediately, with a further eight following shortly afterward,” The Sun reported.
The decision came after a call between U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“The Prime Minister outlined the U.K.’s ambition to intensify our support to Ukraine, including through the provision of Challenger 2 tanks and additional artillery systems,” the UK Prime Minister’s office said in a statement.
“The Prime Minister and President Zelenskyy welcomed other international commitments in this vein, including Poland’s offer to provide a company of Leopard tanks,” the office said.
President Zelenskyy wrote in a Twitter post: “Always strong support of the UK is now impenetrable and ready for challenges. In a conversation with the Prime Minister,@RishiSunak, I thanked for the decisions that will not only strengthen us on the battlefield but also send the right signal to other partners.”
The Russian embassy in the UK has condemned UK’s announcement of sending 12 Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine.
“Bringing tanks to the conflict zone, far from drawing the hostilities to a close, will only serve to intensify combat operations, generating more casualties, including among the civilian population”, the statement said.
Embassy comment on the #UK’s plans to provide #Challenger2 main battle tanks to Kiev.
— Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) January 14, 2023Read full comment: https://t.co/V4Y5ijCgnG pic.twitter.com/iAZR938PJB
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