UK to supply Ukraine with over dozen Challenger 2 tanks

The United Kingdom will provide Ukraine with 14 Challenger 2 tanks in the coming weeks, the British prime minister's office said on Saturday.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a phone call on Saturday that London would send 12 Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine.

"Sending Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine is the start of a gear change in the UK's support. A squadron of 14 tanks will go into the country in the coming weeks after the Prime Minister told President Zelenskyy that the UK would provide additional support to aid Ukraine's land war. Around 30 AS90s, which are large, self-propelled guns, operated by five gunners, are expected to follow," the UK government said in a statement.

According to the release, more details on UK support for Kyiv will be revealed on Monday.

"The UK will begin training the Ukrainian Armed Forces to use the tanks and guns in the coming days, as part of wider UK efforts which have seen thousands of Ukrainian troops trained in the UK over the last six months," the statement specified.

Sunk has tasked the Defence Secretary with bringing together European allies to ensure the surge of global military support is as strategic and coordinated as possible.

"The Defence Secretary will travel to Estonia and Germany this week to work with NATO allies and other international partners to this end," UK Prime Minister's Office said.

In December, the Chief of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, said that Western countries had supplied more than 350 tanks, 700 artillery systems, and 100 multiple-launch rocket systems to Ukraine since the start of the conflict in February 2022, Sputnik news agency reported.

Gerasimov said that total foreign financial assistance to Ukraine amounted to almost USD 100 billion. Moscow has consistently opposed military aid to Kyiv.

( With inputs from ANI )

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