Germany was initially reluctant to send its own supply of the tanks but said it would not get in the way of other nations wishing to send their stock of the German-made vehicle. Wallace, Britain’s defense minister, said the soldiers “return to their homeland better equipped, but to no less danger.” What are the German Leopard 2 tanks?įirst made during the Cold War, there are now 2,000 Leopard 2 tanks scattered across Europe. On Monday, Ukrainian crews returned from several weeks of training in Dorset, England, where they learned how to operate and fight using Challenger 2s. Read More: Ukraine Can Only Win if the U.S. is also providing 20 Bulldog armored troop carriers and 30 AS-90 self-propelled artillery guns, offering Ukrainian forces a competitive upgrade.

The tank’s merit lies in its ability to shock enemies with rapid fire. The heavy vehicle weighs over 65 tons and are equipped with a 120 mm rifled gun.

The tanks were built in the late 1990s by BAE Systems and Land Armaments and can carry up to four people. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Sunak “for the decisions that will not only strengthen us on the battlefield, but also send the right signal to other partners.” In January, Britain became the first nation to pledge Western battle tanks-in this case 14 Challenger 2 tanks from its supply of 227 to Ukraine.

Modern british tanks