Rishi Sunak, the British prime minister, promised to send heavy tanks and artillery systems to Ukraine, prompting an immediate rebuke from the Russian embassy in London.
According to a statement from his office, Sunak committed to deploy the 14 Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine after speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday.
With this action, the United Kingdom becomes the first Western nation to provide the heavy tanks that Kiev has requested.
According to a transcript of a phone call with Zelenskyy, Sunak claimed the tanks were evidence of the UK’s “ambition to expand our help to Ukraine.”
The leader of Ukraine thanked the UK on Twitter for its military assistance, writing that “the decisions that will not only reinforce us on the battlefield, but also send the appropriate signal to other partners.”
The British prime minister, according to Sunak’s office, thinks that a “protracted and static war only benefits Russia’s interests.”
In the statement, it was stated that “UK defence and security officials believe a window has opened up where Russia is on the backfoot due to resupply concerns and declining morale.” In order to have the most impact, the prime minister is urging partners to deploy their planned support for 2023 as soon as feasible.
In the upcoming weeks, a squadron of Challenger 2 battle tanks—tanks built to attack other tanks—will enter Ukraine. It stated that approximately 30 AS90s, which are massive, self-propelled guns operated by five gunners, are anticipated to follow.
Russia warned that the UK’s vow will merely “intensify” the confrontation in response to the UK’s pledge.
The Russian embassy in London stated that sending tanks into the conflict area will not stop the hostilities but rather escalate them and increase losses, particularly those among civilians.
Ukraine has been requesting the delivery of larger tanks, such as the US Abrams and the German Leopard 2 tanks, for months. Some Western leaders, though, have shown caution.
The Ukrainian army has received T-72 tanks from the Soviet era from Poland and the Czech Republic.
President Andrzej Duda emphasized that although Poland has also stated its willingness to provide Leopard tanks to Ukraine, doing so would only be possible as a member of a bigger international coalition providing tanks to that country.
France announced earlier this month that it will send “light tanks”—AMX-10 RC armored combat vehicles—to Ukraine. The first time sending of Bradley fighting vehicles and Marder armored personnel carriers, respectively, was announced by the US and Germany the same week.
The UK made the decision to deploy the tanks as Russian soldiers on Saturday launched missiles at the nation’s capital and other cities, damaging vital infrastructure in the process.
According to regional governor Valentyn Reznichenko, a Russian missile attack that demolished a portion of an apartment building in the southeast Ukrainian city of Dnipro resulted in at least 12 fatalities and more than 64 injuries.
He continued, “the fate of 26 persons is still unclear,” noting that seven children, the youngest of whom was three years old, were among the injured.
The western Lviv area and northeastern Kharkiv both sustained damage to their infrastructure facilities. The capital, Kyiv, was also a target.
