Why UK is sending more anti-tank weapons to Ukraine

FILE - A Ukrainian serviceman fires an NLAW anti-tank weapon during an exercise in the Joint Forces Operation, in the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Feb. 15, 2022. The deliveries of Western arms have been crucial for Ukraine’s efforts to fend off Russian attacks in the nearly 5-month-old war. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File) (AP) — FILE - A Ukrainian serviceman fires an NLAW anti-tank weapon during an exercise in the Joint Forces Operation, in the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Feb. 15, 2022. The deliveries of Western arms have been crucial for Ukraine’s efforts to fend off Russian attacks in the nearly 5-month-old war. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File) **(AP)**

2 min read . Updated: 21 Jul 2022, 05:15 PM IST Livemint

Russian artillery strikes pounded Ukraine's second largest city Kharkiv on Thursday after Moscow announced it was expanding its war aims.

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Britain will send scores of artillery guns and more than 1,600 anti-tank weapons to Ukraine in the latest supply of Western arms to help bolster the country's defence against Russia, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said on Thursday. The boost comes after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson last month promised another 1 billion pounds ($1.2 billion) of military support, bringing total UK support to Ukraine since the start of the war, which Russia calls a "special operation", to 2.3 billion pounds.

"Together with our international partners, we will ensure Ukraine has the tools to defend their country from Putin’s illegal invasion," Wallace said in a statement. Wallace said Britain would also provide counter-battery radar systems, hundreds of drones and more than 50,000 rounds of ammunition.

The UK has already supplied Ukraine with a range of military equipment including almost 7,000 anti-tank weapons, hundreds of missiles and armoured fighting vehicles, and has also been training Ukrainian soldiers. ($1 = 0.8366 pounds)

Russian rockets pummel Kharkiv as gas flows to Europe resume

Russian artillery strikes pounded Ukraine's second largest city Kharkiv on Thursday after Moscow announced it was expanding its war aims, even as Russian gas flows to Europe resumed through the Nord Stream pipeline. The attacks on the eastern city -- scarred by weeks of Russian shelling -- came after 10 days of scheduled work ended on the Nord Stream gas pipeline that had spurred fears of a permanent cut-off.

Kharkiv's regional governor said two people were killed and 19 injured, four of whom were in a serious condition. Three people were killed by strikes a day earlier in Kharkiv, where some semblance of normal life had returned in recent weeks after Ukrainian forces pushed back Russian troops from the city limits.

Russian troops invaded Ukraine on February 24 and the war has left thousands dead, forced millions to flee their homes and wrought havoc with the economy. The central bank on Thursday said it was devaluing the Ukrainian currency, the hryvnia, by 25 percent. "The new hryvnia rate will become an anchor for the economy and will add its resilience in conditions of uncertainty," the bank said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the resumption of gas supplies from Russia to Europe through Germany came a day after Europe unveiled emergency measures to circumvent Russian energy "blackmail". In its latest package of penalties Wednesday, the European Union targeted gold exports and froze assets at Russia's largest bank Sberbank. The German government had been worried Moscow would not reopen the taps on the Nord Stream pipeline after Russia in recent months severely curbed flows in retaliation against sanctions.

(with inputs from Reuters and AFP)

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