UK to Send Challenger 2 Main Battle Tanks to Ukraine, PM Sunak Confirms

The first British Challenger 2 main battle tanks roll off of their transport ship after arriving from Germany at Camp Commando, Kuwait, in February 2003. WO2 Giles Penfound/MOD/Getty Images

The UK will provide Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine, becoming the first Western power to offer main battle tanks in support of the country’s resistance against the Russian invasion, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has confirmed.

Sunak made the pledge on the morning of Jan. 14 during a phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who thanked the UK for sending the “right signal to other partners.”