The UK will also send around 30 AS90s, large, self-propelled guns, operated by five gunners.

'To win this war, we need more military equipment, heavy equipment,' Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine's presidential office, said.įoreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also said that he had spoken with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and 'emphasised the need' for Ukraine to receive Western-type tanks. Ukraine's European allies have sent Kyiv more than 300 modernised Soviet tanks since Russia invaded in February 2022 © Anatolii Stepanov / AFP Russia said on Friday its forces had wrested control of the war-scarred town of Soledar in east Ukraine, its first claim of victory in months of battlefield setbacks, although Ukraine said fierce fighting was still under way. Ukraine's forces have taken heavy losses in the battles of Soledar and Bakhmut in recent months and have called on the country's allies to give it more support. Zelensky thanked the UK on Twitter for making decisions that 'will not only strengthen us on the battlefield, but also send the right signal to other partners'. Ukraine's European allies have sent Kyiv more than 300 modernised Soviet tanks since Russia invaded in February 2022.īut they have so far held off on dispatching the Western-made heavy tanks that Ukraine has repeatedly requested to push forward against Russian invaders. Sunak said the tanks were a sign of the UK's 'ambition to intensify our support to Ukraine', according to a readout of a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. 'Bringing tanks to the conflict zone, far from drawing the hostilities to a close, will only serve to intensify combat operations, generating more casualties, including among the civilian population', the Russian embassy in the UK said.

The pledge saw a swift reaction from Russia which warned it would only 'intensify' the conflict.

Modern russian heavy tanks