Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said that the UK will be increasing its supply of weapons to Ukraine to help it defend itself against Russian attacks. He said the UK had so far delivered 3,615 Next Generation Light Anti-tank Weapons (NLAWs) “and continue(s) to deliver more”.
The UK has said it is helping “facilitate” the deliveries of these weapons but Western officials are not giving details of how the supplies are getting through. There is some evidence that weapons supplied by the UK have already been used to destroy Russian armor. Ukraine’s military has released several videos showing Russian helicopters being shot down by surface-to-air missiles.
The government also stated that they will start delivering anti-rank Javelin missiles. The British star streak missiles are considered as a mobile system to be fired in the field by troops whose main targets are helicopters and planes. Also, the Javelin is a medium-range missile that can strike targets up to 1.5 miles (2.5km) away. It is heavier than an NLAW, at 24.3kg, and is a “fire and forget” system, allowing the user to lock on to a target, fire, and then focus on a different target.
Along with it the defense secretary mentioned that the ration, medical equipment supplies will also be increased to the amount required. The UK government is trying its best to help the people of Ukraine by changing its tactics or strategies as Russia is trying to do the same.
“We believe that this system will remain within the definition of defensive weapons but will allow the Ukrainian force to better defend the skies,” Mr. Wallace said. “I want to assure the House [of Commons] that everything we do is bound by the decisions to supply defensive systems and calibrated not to escalate to a strategic level.” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in Berlin alongside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Canada will also send an additional $50 million worth of military equipment to help Ukraine in the fight against Russia.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is calling for a no-fly zone to be imposed over his country – which the West has said it is not in favour of as it could bring NATO into direct military contact with Moscow. Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss rejected Ukraine’s call for the West to implement a no-fly zone over Ukraine. It would lead to a direct confrontation between Nato and Russia and that was not what we were looking at, she said.
