UK challenger tanks to start combat missions in Ukraine: Ukrainian MoD
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Ukraine will soon receive Challenger 2 tanks from the United Kingdom.
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Ukrainian soldiers at Bovington Camp, a British Army military base where they are training on Challenger 2 tanks, in Dorset, England, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023. (AP)
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov reported on Tuesday that Challenger 2 tanks supplied by the United Kingdom will soon be deployed for the execution of combat missions.
"It was a pleasure to take the first Ukrainian Challenger 2 MBT for a spin. Such tanks, supplied by the United Kingdom, have recently arrived in our country. These fantastic machines will soon begin their combat missions. Thank you, [UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak], [Defense Secretary Ben Wallace] and the [British] people," Reznikov said on Twitter.
It was a pleasure to take the first Ukrainian Challenger 2 MBT for a spin.
— Oleksii Reznikov (@oleksiireznikov) March 28, 2023
Such tanks, supplied by the United Kingdom, have recently arrived in our country.
These fantastic machines will soon begin their combat missions.
Thank you, @RishiSunak, @BWallaceMP, and the 🇬🇧 people. pic.twitter.com/zoCRmKdBnN
Reznikov confirmed on Monday the arrival of Western armored vehicles in Ukraine, noting that the military equipment has already been submitted to the armament of the airborne troops.
The UK Defense Ministry said at the same time that Ukrainian troops have completed training on Challenger 2 tanks in the UK and have already returned home where the British tanks are expected to be used.
Reports suggest that Ukraine has been preparing to launch an attack against Russia in the spring of this year, with a number of Western officials expressing their willingness to help Kiev.
The UK is among the countries supplying Ukraine with heavy armaments and offering Ukrainian military personnel training.
Last week, UK Minister of State for Defense Annabel Goldie said that the country would provide Ukraine with depleted uranium tank ammunition, including armor-piercing shells for the 14 Challenger 2 battle tanks the UK is planning to supply to Ukraine. The Kremlin has repeatedly warned against further escalation of the situation.
Other than the Kremlin, a report published by Sputnik on March 24 revealed some of the most gruesome outcomes that would result from the use of depleted uranium shells in light of the UK's recent pledge to supply Kiev troops with the deadly ammunition for Challenger 2 tanks.
The news agency interviewed experts from Iraq and Libya to comment on the disastrous impact of the shells, particularly with regard to increased cancer cases and birth defects.
The US and NATO say they resorted to depleted uranium shells in Iraq to deter armored vehicles.
Yugoslavia was likewise not spared from the humanitarian catastrophe, as during the 1999 NATO invasion, some 31,000 rounds of depleted uranium ammunition were fired, causing environmental damage at unprecedented levels.
The radiation was so severe that even troops from allied forces reported abnormally high rates of cancer cases in breakaway Kosovo.
