'UK's Ambition To Intensify Support': UK PM Rishi Sunak Confirms To Provide Challenger 2 Tanks To Ukraine

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced that the United Kingdom will send Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine to help the country's military effort. On Saturday, he called President Volodymyr Zelensky.

UK PM Rishi Sunak And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (File Photo)

Source : Getty

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced on Saturday that the United Kingdom will send Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine to support the country's military effort. He called Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and said he will dispatch the equipment and more artillery systems, BBC reported citing a No 10 statement.

According to Downing Street, the decision demonstrates "the UK's ambition to intensify support."

According to the BBC, the initial commitment is for approximately a dozen tanks.

As per the report, President Zelensky has thanked the UK, adding that the decision to deliver the tanks "would not only reinforce us on the battlefield but also send the proper signal to other partners". He claimed the UK's backing was "always strong" and was "now impenetrable".

Sunak and Zelensky addressed recent Ukrainian successes, as well as the "need to seize this moment with an acceleration of global military and diplomatic support," as per the report. Sunak said the Challengers, the British Army's main battle tank, would assist Kyiv's military "push Russian troops back".

The Challenger tank, which was built in the late 1990s, is more than 20 years old, yet it will be the most contemporary tank available to Ukraine. The tanks will give stronger protection and more accurate gunfire to Ukraine.

While the donation is hardly a game changer in and of itself, it is anticipated that the UK's action would inspire other countries to provide more contemporary equipment to help Ukraine.

As of now, Poland intends to send 14 Leopard tanks produced in Germany.

However, the tanks, which are in greater quantity and are utilised by a number of European militaries, require German approval before being exported to Ukraine.

Earlier this month, Germany and the United States decided to join France in providing armoured fighting vehicles to Ukraine, which is considered as a significant boost to its military's battlefield strength.

The decision to send the Challengers has "Labour's full backing," according to Shadow Defence Secretary John Healey.

(With Inputs From Agencies)