Challenger 2 battle tanks could start to arrive in Ukraine in the spring, U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said in an interview with Reuters on Feb. 22. Britain could offer Ukraine more of its main battle tanks on top of the 14 already promised, but that would depend on the country's defense needs, Wallace added.
The U.K. has already given more than 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers basic training in drone warfare. It has been training tank crews since late January, part of what ministers say is "proof of the country's leading role in supporting Ukraine."
Since 2015, the U.K. has been training the Ukrainian Armed Forces through Operation ORBITAL and was the first European country to provide lethal aid. The UK’s military, humanitarian and economic support to Ukraine since the invasion has reached nearly £4 billion ($4.8 billion).
"The key is to make sure we can maintain them through this year. With Russia using the meat grinder tactic of its own where the Russian army doesn't care about its own people, ... we have to make sure that is not able to be successful," Wallace was quoted as saying.
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