Now it's official: Great Britain transfers Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine

Today Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had a telephone conversation. And Great Britain has good news for Ukraine.

Here's What We Know

Rishi Sunak confirmed to the head of Ukraine that the UK will hand over Challenger 2 tanks to the AFU. Also Ukraine will receive additional artillery systems.

"The Prime Minister noted the UK's desire to strengthen our support for Ukraine, including by providing Challenger 2 tanks and additional artillery systems," the UK government said.

In addition, they discussed other partners' decisions on military assistance, in particular Poland's offer to transfer a company of Leopard tanks.

The report did not specify how many Challenger 2 tanks Ukraine would receive. However, The Independent writes that Ukraine will receive 12 Challenger 2 tanks, with the first 4 immediately. The rest will arrive a little later. That number of tanks is enough to create one company.

Flashback

The Challenger 2 is the main battle tank of the British Army. It was built in the 1990s by BAE Systems. The tank was taken out of production in 2009. The Challenger 2 took part in combat operations in Kosovo and Iraq. As of 2022, Britain had 227 Challenger 2 tanks in service. There are also 38 tanks in service with Oman's armed forces.

Source: GOV.UK