Britain says the defensive weapons are being sent because of “increasingly threatening behaviour coming from Russia.”
More British military planes carrying anti-tank weaponry are headed to Kyiv on Wednesday as Russia continues to ratchet up its military posture along Ukraine’s borders, with Russian soldiers arriving in Belarus on Tuesday for snap military drills.
Ukrainian defence official Anatoliy Petrenko said the shipments would strengthen Ukraine’s defensive capabilities:
“Undoubtedly, this will strengthen our troops, it will strengthen our defence capabilities. And I want to emphasize that this assistance will be used exclusively for defence purposes, to protect our troops, to protect critical infrastructure, and to protect civilians from any manifestations, any actions that could lead to escalation,” Petrenko was quoted as saying on the web page of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence.
The Next-generation Light Anti-tank Weapons (NLAW) were being loaded onto RAF planes within hours of an announcement by the UK defence secretary Ben Wallace, who told the British Parliament on Monday that Britain was sending the weaponry for “self-defence” purposes. Wallace told the UK parliament that, the decision was made in response to “increasingly threatening behaviour coming from Russia.”
Wallace also announced a small contingent of British soldiers would also be sent to Ukraine to train Ukrainian troops on how to use the kit, in case of a new Russian invasion into Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Canadian media have reported that that Ottawa had dispatched special forces operators to Ukraine to assist the Ukrainian government and also help develop evacuation plans for Canadian diplomatic personnel in the event of a full-scale invasion.
For more on this see: https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/british-aircraft-transporting-anti-armour-weapons-to-ukraine/?fbclid=IwAR3ybzqDBr8ziDYadVdLFVC0OJzm5OroQliUxfn1iAg8quJDahLvzVIw1Ps
