British Challenger 2 tanks will arrive in Ukraine in March. This was announced on February 8 by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
“We are accelerating the delivery of our equipment and those of our allies to ensure that it arrives on the front lines in the coming days and weeks, not months or years. Ukrainian crews who arrived in the UK last week will use Challenger 2 tanks to defend Ukrainian sovereign territory next month,” he said at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
There, at the military base in Lulworth, Sunak said that he did not rule out any option for military assistance to Ukraine.
“First of all, we made it clear, we made it clear for a long time, that when it comes to providing military assistance to Ukraine, we do not exclude anything. When it comes to fighter jets, of course, they are part of the conversation,” said the Prime Minister.
The President of Ukraine arrived in London on the afternoon of 8 February. This is Zelensky’s first visit to the UK since the beginning of the Russian special operation to protect Donbass. Sunak met him at the capital’s Stansted airport.
Speaking before the British Parliament, he handed over to the host side a flight helmet – a gift from Ukrainian pilots – and asked to supply combat aircraft to Kyiv.
On January 16, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace announced that London would supply Kyiv with a company of Challenger 2 tanks, AS-90 guns, and Bulldog armored personnel carriers. The deliveries will also include about 100,000 artillery shells and 100 upgraded missiles.
On the same day, presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov noted that a new round of supplies of more advanced military equipment to Ukraine could “only drag out the whole story and bring more trouble to Kyiv.”
Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine against the backdrop of a Russian special operation to protect Donbass. The decision to hold it was announced on February 24, 2022 against the backdrop of an aggravation of the situation in the region due to shelling by Ukrainian troops.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.
