Rishi Sunak steps up pressure on allies to deploy support in Ukraine

2023-01-15

Rishi Sunak confirms the UK will send 14 Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine as he steps up pressure on Germany to follow suit and take advantage of ‘window of opportunity’ while Russia is on the backfoot due to ‘resupply issues and plummeting troop morale’

Rishi Sunak will heap pressure on Britain’s allies to assist Ukraine further
He confirmed Britain would send 14 Challenge 2 tanks to assist in Russian war
Experts believe there is a window of opportunity while Russia is on the backfoot

Rishi Sunak will heap pressure on Britain’s allies to follow his lead in taking advantage of a ‘window of opportunity’ to support Ukraine in the drawn-out war with Russia.

Confirming his decision to provide 14 British tanks to Kyiv during a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Prime Minister will now deploy his ministers on an international diplomatic blitz in an attempt to gain widespread support.

Officials said the decision was made after Mr Sunak ‘analysed the military picture’.

He is said to have concluded Ukraine would need early assistance if it was to push Russia back following President Vladimir Putin’s stalled and protracted invasion.

Pictured: Rishi Sunak leaves Downing Street on January 11, 2023

Blood-stained helmets of Ukrainian servicemen are pictured beside the road as a wounded soldier is evacuated

It comes amid reports that both Kyiv and Moscow are gearing up for a spring offensive when the weather is warmer.

Downing Street said Mr Sunak recognises that a ‘long and static war only serves Russia’s ends’.

According to No 10 officials, UK defence and security experts believe a window of opportunity has opened up, with Russia on the backfoot due to resupply issues and plummeting troop morale.

That analysis encouraged the Prime Minister to use the coming days to try and persuade allies to deploy their planned support for this year ‘as soon as possible’ in order to have ‘maximum impact’, officials said.

Emergency workers clear the rubble after a Russian rocket hit a multistory building leaving many people under debris in Dnipro, Ukraine, Saturday, January 14, 2023

Mr Sunak will send Foreign Secretary James Cleverly to the US and Canada next week to work together on ‘galvanising further international action’ in support of Kyiv.

In an opinion piece in The Sun today, Mr Cleverly said: ‘Today, the Russian army is on the defensive. Morale is pitiful. Casualties are immense. Vast quantities of vehicles and equipment have been destroyed. Troops… are low on supplies because of the shambolic state of Russian military logistics.’

He also noted ‘not a single one of the Russian operational commanders in place when the invasion began on February 24 last year is still in his job today,’ in yet another sign of the flailing operation.

And Ukraine winning this war would benefit Britons immensely, he pointed out.

‘The sooner Ukraine wins, the sooner global food prices can settle down, easing the hardship of millions in the developing world. Better for Britain, for our allies and for everyone. Except Putin.’

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, after setting out the UK’s latest military support to Mr Zelensky’s forces in the Commons on Monday, is set to meet Nato allies in Estonia and Germany.

Downing Street has confirmed 14 tanks will be handed over as part of the agreement and up to 30 AS90s – large, self-propelled guns operated by five gunners – are expected to follow.

The Challenger 2 tanks pledge represented a ‘gear change in the UK’s support’ for Kyiv.

Training will begin in Britain in the coming days showing the Ukrainian Armed Forces how to operate the tanks and AS90 guns.

A Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank during a Land Combat demonstration (file photo)

When Challenger 2s beat Saddam’s tanks 14-0

Tank-on-tank exchanges are rare in modern warfare, and the only time a Challenger 2 has been defeated by another tank on the battlefield was in a friendly fire incident in Iraq at the hands of another Challenger 2.

But it was in that conflict in 2003 that the Challenger 2 had its proudest moment.

A squadron of 14 tanks from the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards confronted a similar number of ageing Soviet-era T55 tanks.

Every Iraqi tank was destroyed and every British tank was untouched in a battle that one cavalry said ‘was like the bicycle against the motor car’.

Mr Zelensky, writing on Twitter, said the move would ‘not only strengthen us on the battlefield, but also send the right signal to other partners’.

A No 10 spokeswoman said: ‘As the people of Ukraine approach their second year living under relentless Russian bombardment, the Prime Minister is dedicated to ensuring Ukraine wins this war.

‘Alongside his closest military advisors, he has analysed the military picture, looked at the strategic impact of the UK’s support and identified a window where he thinks the UK and its allies can have maximum impact.

‘The Prime Minister is clear that a long and static war only serves Russia’s ends.

‘That’s why he and his ministers will be speaking to our allies across the world in the days and weeks ahead to ramp up pressure on Putin and secure a better future for Ukraine.’

Responding the Mr Sunak’s decision to send tanks to the battlefield, the Russian embassy in the UK said it would ‘generate more casualties, including among the civilian population’.

The comments come despite the targeting of civilian infrastructure by the Kremlin’s military during the conflict and allegations of human rights abuses in Russian-captured areas.

Harrowing images show how an entire apartment block was obliterated into a mountain of brick and mortar in central Ukraine on Saturday, with twisted bits of charred metal strewn about nearby streets.

Regional governor Valentyn Reznichenko said seven children were among the 39 people transported to hospital with severe injuries.

Germany is said to be considering sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak today confirmed the UK will deliver a squadron of Challenger 2 battle tanks (pictured) to Ukraine

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At least five people have already died, but that number is expected to rise given there are still dozens of people feared trapped in the debris.

Moscow’s fresh aerial assault comes as the embassy said the Challenger 2 tanks would ‘become legitimate large-scale targets for the Russian forces’.

It marks the first time in the war that Britain has supplied Ukraine with military tanks and it will significantly ramp up Western support.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on Saturday that the UK has committed £2.3 billion in military aid to Ukraine.

The MoD said: ‘Our commitment to Ukraine remains steadfast and we will match or exceed last year’s military support in 2023. The military aid we have donated will help Ukraine defend against air attacks, fight on land, defend their shores, and be equipped for winter.’

The transfer of the tank squadron may also be a major step in persuading Germany to send its much sought-after Leopard II tanks.

Europe has more than 2,000 Leopard II tanks, held by armies in 13 countries, but Berlin’s consent is needed before any of the German-made kit can be re-exported to Ukraine.

Robert Habeck, the German economy minister, said on Monday that the nation had no plans to send Ukraine its Leopard II tanks, but that it ‘can’t be ruled out’ in the future.

There are hopes the nation will be prompted to reconsider in the wake of Mr Sunak’s announcement.

Rescue team work among the rubble of a damaged residential building hit by shelling in Dnipro, southeastern Ukraine, 14 January 2023

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