Chaired by the US, the group coordinates military aid to Ukraine. Kyiv is hoping for a further breakthrough at or in the run-up to the next meeting of the “Ramstein” contact group of western defence ministers, which is scheduled for 20 January. That followed an announcement by France that it would provide a number – estimated at about 30 – of light AMX-10 RC armoured vehicles in what appeared to be a coordinated sequence of announcements. Last week, the US and Germany said they would provide 50 Bradley and 40 Marder fighting vehicles respectively. Western countries have already announced a step-up in their military aid to Ukraine this year. There are about 2,000 Leopard 2s in service in Europe with 13 different countries, but because they were originally made in Germany, the approval of Berlin would be required if any are to be re-exported to Ukraine. But the reality is that the UK, with a total fleet of 227, has a small supply compared with what is made by Germany and the US.Īn initial report from Sky News suggested the UK was considering supplying about 10 Challenger 2s, only a fraction of the 300 Kyiv wants as it tries to build up a mechanised force in pursuit of victory after more than 10 months of war. Ukraine has been asking for British tanks “since summer”, a second source said.
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