This time again, “the English gentlemen” fired first. Already at the forefront of military support for Ukraine, the British government announced on Saturday 14 January the delivery ” in the next weeks “ of fourteen Challenger 2 heavy tanks to soldiers in kyiv, a first for a Western country since the entry of Russian troops on Ukrainian soil. This delivery reflects “the UK’s ambition to step up its support for Ukraine”said Downing Street after a telephone conversation between British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
So far, kyiv’s Western allies have made the delivery of heavy tanks to kyiv a red line, saying supplying such powerful vehicles could lead to an escalation with Moscow. But the intensification of Russian strikes on civilian populations, and the prospect of a long war if no additional aid is brought to Ukraine, have finally convinced a number of countries to take the plunge. In addition to Great Britain, Finland and Poland say they are ready to send tanks to Ukraine.
“The country’s defense and security authorities believe a window of opportunity has opened as Russia is on the defensive due to supply issues and low morale. Prime Minister encourages allies to deploy support for Ukraine as soon as possible”, justified Downing Street in a press release published on Saturday. In an interview given in mid-December 2022 to The Economistthe head of the Ukrainian armed forces, Valeri Zaluzhny, estimated that 300 Western tanks – more accurate and more powerful than the Soviet models already supplied by some European countries – would be needed to resume its offensives.
London’s full support
In doing so, Rishi Sunak is in line with his predecessors, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, who unreservedly supported Ukraine in 2022. The United Kingdom was one of the first to arm the forces of kyiv, even before the start of the Russian invasion, in January 2022, with NLAW portable anti-tank missiles, helping to stop Russian armor converging on the Ukrainian capital. According to the Kiel Institute, which counts the aid provided to Ukraine, the United Kingdom is the second largest contributor in terms of military support, behind the United States. London also announced on Saturday the dispatch of 30 AS-90 self-propelled guns.
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