UK won't supply fighter jets to Ukraine for now: Defense Secretary
The UK will not supply fighter jets such as Eurofighter Typhoon to Kiev due to the fact that they require a lot of maintenance.
-
UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace at the Ministry of Defense, London, Britain, March 21, 2022 (Reuters)
UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said on Friday that the United Kingdom will not supply fighter jets to Kiev in the near future, especially those which require a lot of maintenance, such as the Eurofighter Typhoon.
"We are not going to send our own Typhoon jets in the short term to Ukraine, we have been quite clear about that," Wallace told Sky News.
Sending the Eurofighter Typhoon means also sending hundreds of UK engineers and pilots to Ukraine, something that the UK is not ready for at the moment.
This comes as the UK confirmed earlier in January that it plans to send tanks to Ukraine.
"We are accelerating our support to Ukraine with the kind of next-generation military technology that will help to win this war," Downing Street spokesperson told the Financial Times. "It is clear that battle tanks could provide a game-changing capability to the Ukrainians."
Read more: UK confirms plans to give tanks to Ukraine
The United Kingdom also supplied Ukraine with air defense missiles including 18 howitzer artillery weapons, capable of shooting down cruise missiles.
"These weapons will help Ukraine defend its skies from attacks and strengthen their overall missile defense alongside the US NASAMS," Wallace said.
