Britain is set to send a squadron of 14 Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine “in the coming weeks” to help bolster the resistance against Russian forces. This makes the UK the first western nation to supply Ukraine with main battle tanks. However, a new Express.co.uk poll has shown that the majority of readers think the UK is not doing enough.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told the House of Commons on Monday that the UK would be sending a significant package of military support to help the Ukrainian military. The support includes 14 Challenger 2 tanks, 30 self-propelled guns known as AS90s, armoured vehicles, drones, missiles, and artillery rounds.
He said: “If we are to continue helping Ukraine to seize the upper hand in the next phase of the conflict, we must accelerate our collective effort diplomatically, economically and militarily.”
British officials say their decision to send tanks is part of a broader push to galvanise support. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said the supply of tanks hopes to allow the war to end sooner. He told a Washington thinktank: “This war has been dragging on for a long time already. And now is the time to bring it to a conclusion.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has thanked Mr Wallace, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and the people of Britain for making the “powerful contribution to our common victory over tyranny”.
READ MORE: Ukrainian troops on the frontline plead for more Western tanks
In a poll that ran from 10:30am on Tuesday, January 10, to 2:30pm on Wednesday, January 18, Express.co.uk asked readers: “Is the UK doing enough to help Ukraine?”
Overall, 1,485 people responded with the majority, 61 per cent (898 people) answering “no” the UK is not doing enough.
Meanwhile, 37 per cent (553 people) said “yes” the UK was supporting Ukraine enough, and a further two per cent (34 people) said they did not know either way.
Dozens of comments were left below the accompanying article as readers discussed the UK’s aid and military donations to Ukraine.
The UK Government under former Prime Minister Liz Truss pledged to match or exceed last year’s aid to Ukraine’s military in 2023. This means at least £2.3billion will be given to Ukraine alongside supporting the training of 10,000 new and existing Ukranaian fighters every 120 days.
A Government spokesperson said: “We will continue to build on recent donations with training and further gifting of equipment.”
France has pledged to send AMX-10 RC light combat tanks to Kyiv in two months’ time and Mr Wallace has encouraged Germany to follow by donating Leopard 2 tanks.
The next meeting of the Contact Group for the Defense of Ukraine is due to take place on Friday, January 20 at the US base of Ramstein, in Germany, to discuss the coordination of further military support.