MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th January, 2023) Ukrainian tank crews arrived in the United Kingdom for training to operate Challenger 2 tanks, which London plans to send to Kiev this spring, the UK Defense Ministry said on Sunday.
"Ukrainian tank crews have arrived in the UK to begin training ... The UK will provide Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine alongside global partner nations - demonstrating the strength of support for Ukraine, internationally," the ministry said on Twitter.
On January 15, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the country will send 14 of its Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine.
Earlier this week, UK deputy Defense Minister Alex Chalk said that the tanks would be supplied at the end of March and the Ukrainian military would start training to operate them on January 30.
Germany also committed to sending 14 Leopard 2A6 tanks to Ukraine, after being repeatedly pushed to do so by some of its EU and NATO allies. The United States said it would send Ukraine 31 Abrams tanks and eight M88 recovery vehicles, noting that that delivery would take considerable time.
In April 2022, Moscow sent a note to NATO member states condemning their military assistance to Kiev after Russia started its military operation in Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that any arms shipments on Ukrainian territory would be "legitimate targets" for Russian forces.
