Britain to give Ukraine Challenger 2 "tank squadron" - The Independent

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has decided to send a tank squadron to Ukraine, The Independent and The Sun reported, citing Downing Street sources.

According to them, a group of four Challenger 2 tanks will be delivered to Ukraine soon, and after some time Britain will send another eight tanks. It is expected that Sunak will soon inform Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky personally about the decision in a phone conversation. The Guardian writes that the official announcement of the sending of tanks to Ukraine may be made on Monday, 16 January.

The British army now has 227 Challenger 2 tanks in service. As the newspaper notes, the transfer of several of them to Kyiv "will not make much difference on the battlefield", but this is the first time that a Western state has agreed to send its own heavy armoured vehicles to Ukraine.

It is also known that Rishi Sunak has asked Defence Minister Ben Wallace to "work with partners" in the coming weeks to discuss how to "move further and faster in supporting Ukraine, including providing tanks".