Just 14 Challenger 2 tanks pose no 'significant' challenge in Ukraine war, says British MP, batting for hundreds more
British Conservative MP Bob Seely has said that the number of tanks the UK is set to send to Ukraine is not enough to defeat Russia and called for more heavy equipment to be supplied to Kiev’s forces
The UK will send 14 British Challenger 2 battle tanks to Ukraine. AP.
New Delhi: British Conservative MP Bob Seely has said that the number of tanks the UK is set to send to Ukraine is not enough to defeat Russia and called for more heavy equipment to be supplied to Kiev’s forces.
Taking to Twitter, Seely said, “Sending 14 Challenger tanks is important & shows the #UK’s leadership; Ukraine needs 300+ tanks & 500+ infantry vehicles to win.”
Sending 14 Challenger tanks is important & shows the #UK’s leadership; Ukraine needs 300+ tanks & 500+ infantry vehicles to win.
— Bob Seely MP (@IoWBobSeely) January 16, 2023
In the tweet, Seely seems to suggest that 14 tanks were not enough and that Kiev needed hundreds more to win on the battlefield.
His comments came after the British ministry of defense announced on Monday that it will send a squadron of Challenger 2 tanks intended to accelerate Ukrainian success in its ongoing military conflict with Russia.
Later, in an interview to GB News, the lawmaker said the tank squadron would be a “considerable addition” to Kiev’s forces but that it was not going to make a “significant military difference”
“They need a minimum of 200, 300 main battle tanks…and probably five to six hundred infantry fighting vehicles on top of the huge amounts of supplies, and the West has already been generous,” he was quoted as saying.
When asked as to why his country has been hesitant to send military equipment to Ukraine up until this point, the MP said Western nations were cautious about escalating tensions with Russia by sending “major pieces of kit like airpower, like tanks.”
Now, however, according to Seely that dynamic has changed and the UK is trying to “provide political leadership and political cover, so that other countries will send their tanks as well.”
Russia, meanwhile, has responded to the UK’s announced shipment of Challenger 2 tanks by stating they will “burn like the rest” of Western-supplied armor in Ukraine.
With inputs from agencies
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