UK to send Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine, Rishi Sunak confirms

The UK is to nonstop Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine to bolster the country's warfare effort, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said.

He spoke to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky successful a telephone connected Saturday, during which helium confirmed helium would nonstop the instrumentality and further artillery systems, No 10 said.

Downing Street said the determination shows "the UK's ambition to intensify support."

The BBC understands the archetypal committedness is for astir a twelve tanks.

President Zelensky has thanked the UK, saying that the determination to nonstop the tanks "will not lone fortify america connected the battlefield, but besides nonstop the close awesome to different partners".

He said the UK's enactment was "always strong" and was "now impenetrable".

No 10 said that during the call, Mr Sunak and Mr Zelensky besides discussed besides caller Ukrainian victories, arsenic good arsenic the "need to prehend connected this infinitesimal with an acceleration of planetary subject and diplomatic support".

Five radical are known to person died and astatine slightest 15 others were rescued from rubble aft a nine-storey artifact of flats successful Dnipro was damaged by 1 strike.

Mr Sunak said the Challengers, the British Army's main conflict tank, would assistance Kyiv's forces "push Russian troops back".

Built successful the precocious 1990s, the Challenger vessel is much than 20 years old, but it volition beryllium the astir modern vessel astatine Ukraine's disposal. The tanks volition supply Ukraine with amended protection, and much close firepower.

While the donation unsocial is not considered a game-changer, it is hoped that the UK's determination volition animate different countries to donate much modern instrumentality to assistance Ukraine.

As it stands, Poland has plans to nonstop 14 of its German-made Leopard tanks.

But the tanks, which are successful greater proviso and utilized by a fig of European armies, request support from Germany to beryllium exported to Ukraine.

Ukraine besides has hopes that the US volition proviso immoderate of its Abrams tanks, which usage the aforesaid ammunition arsenic the Leopard.

Earlier this month, Germany and the US agreed to articulation France successful sending armoured warring vehicles to Ukraine - a determination seen arsenic a important boost to its military's capableness connected the battlefield.

Shadow defence caput John Healey said the authorities had "Labour's fullest backing" for the determination to nonstop the Challengers.

He said: "Modern tanks are important to Ukraine's efforts to triumph its conflict against Russian aggression."

Responding to the quality of the Challenger tanks, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: "As we've said previously, weapons supplies are morganatic targets for Russian strikes."

Earlier, Russia's subject announced it had captured the salt-mining municipality of Soledar aft a agelong battle, calling it an "important" measurement for its offensive.

The triumph would let Russian troops to propulsion connected to the adjacent metropolis of Bakhmut, and chopped disconnected the Ukrainian forces there, a spokesperson said.

But Ukrainian officials said the combat for Soledar was inactive going connected and accused Russia of "information noise".

On Saturday, rocket attacks were reported astatine locations crossed Ukraine, including captious infrastructure sites successful the Kharkiv and Lviv regions, according to section officials.

The attacks are portion of a broader run successful caller months from the Russian military, who person been bombarding Ukrainian infrastructure since October, causing blackouts and disruptions to cardinal heating and moving h2o successful freezing wintertime conditions.

A Russian rocket has besides deed a residential gathering successful the metropolis of Dnipro and radical are trapped nether the rubble, a Ukrainian authoritative has said.

He said that radical who were astatine location for the St Basil's Day vacation successful Ukraine were trapped nether the rubble, adding that exigency services were astatine the scene.