UK's defence secretary Ben Wallace announced on Monday that Britain would be providing Ukraine with a squadron of its Challenger 2 tanks, a combat vehicle Ukraine has been demanding from the West for a long time.
"Today, I can announce the most significant package of combat power to date to accelerate Ukrainian success. This includes a squadron of Challenger 2 tanks with armoured recovery and repair vehicles," Ben Wallace was quoted saying the House of Commons by Reuters.
According to reports, the package also includes eight AS90 guns, armoured vehicles like Bulldog personnel carriers, uncrewed aerial systems,1,00,000 artillery rounds, sophisticated missiles including Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS), Starstreak air defence, medium-range air defence missiles and a spares package to refurbish Ukraine tanks and armoured vehicles.
Wallace also urged Germany to provide Ukraine with its Leopard 2 tanks or at least let NATO countries to re-export them to Ukraine.
The Guardian reported there are over 2,300 Leopard 2 tanks available or in storage in 13 Nato countries, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, whereas there are only 227 Challenger 2 tanks in the British entire army.
Both Poland and Finland, with substantial fleets of German-made tanks, have indicated that they are each willing to donate the tanks to Ukraine if permitted by Germany.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a tweet, “Tanks, APCs and artillery are exactly what Ukraine needs to restore its territorial integrity. Thank you @RishiSunak, thank you @BWallaceMP, thank you British people for this powerful contribution to our common victory over tyranny.”
