Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov today announced the arrival in the country of the first British-built Challenger 2 tanks that the London government had promised to deliver to Kyiv.
“These tanks, supplied by the UK, have recently arrived in our country,” Reznikov wrote on his Twitter account, adding that “these fantastic machines will soon begin their combat missions.” The news of the arrival of the tanks comes a day after the Ukrainian soldiers who were training in the United Kingdom in the management of these armored vehicles returned to Ukraine after completing their training.
The UK plans to send 14 Challenger tanks to Ukraine. In his Twitter message, Reznikov did not specify the number of armored vehicles that have already arrived in Ukraine, but his message is accompanied by a video showing at least 6 tanks, waving Ukrainian flags. The Ukrainian Defense Minister appears on one of them and thanks the British people and Government for this new delivery of military aid to Ukraine.
On the other hand, and according to German media, the Kyiv government received on Monday 18 Leopard 2 tanks from Germany and 40 Marder vehicles for light infantry. Ukraine has also received Leopard 2 tanks donated by Poland, which was the first country to effectively hand over Western-made armored vehicles.
But the German Leopards are not the only ones. The Portuguese Ministry of Defense announced Tuesday that it has already delivered its three promised tanks. “Three Leopard 2A6 tanks, which Portugal is transferring in agreement with its partners, are already in Ukraine. Portugal continues to support Ukraine, which is resisting Russia’s illegal invasion,” the official statement said.
