UK Indicates it Will Send Battle Tanks to Ukraine 

Rescuers works on a residential building destroyed after a missile strike, in Dnipro on January 14, 2023. (AFP)
Rescuers works on a residential building destroyed after a missile strike, in Dnipro on January 14, 2023. (AFP)
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UK Indicates it Will Send Battle Tanks to Ukraine 

Rescuers works on a residential building destroyed after a missile strike, in Dnipro on January 14, 2023. (AFP)
Rescuers works on a residential building destroyed after a missile strike, in Dnipro on January 14, 2023. (AFP)

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak indicated on Saturday that Britain would send Ukraine some of its main battle tanks along with additional artillery support, drawing swift reproach from the Russian Embassy in London. 

During a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Sunak "outlined the UK's ambition to intensify our support to Ukraine, including through the provision of Challenger 2 tanks and additional artillery systems", a spokesperson for the prime minister said. 

"The leaders reflected on the current state of Russia's war in Ukraine, with successive Ukrainian victories pushing Russian troops back and compounding their military and morale issues," the spokesperson added. 

Media reports have suggested Britain was in discussions with Ukraine to deliver the Challengers to help the country fight Moscow's forces. 

Sunak's office said earlier this week that Britain would coordinate its support with allies after Germany, France and the United States all indicated last week they would provide armored vehicles to Ukraine. 

According to Sky News, about a dozen tanks would be supplied, the first time such Western weaponry had been pledged. Sunak's office said further details about the tanks' deployment would be provided shortly. 

The Russian Embassy in London said the decision to send the tanks would drag out the confrontation, lead to more victims including civilians, and was evidence of "the increasingly obvious involvement of London in the conflict". 

"As for the Challenger 2 tanks, they are unlikely to help the Armed Forces of Ukraine turn the tide on the battlefield, but they will become a legitimate large target for the Russian artillery," the embassy said, according to comments cited by the TASS news agency. 

The Challenger 2 is a battle tank designed to attack other tanks, and has been in service with the British Army since 1994. It has been deployed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Iraq, according to the army. 

"The prime minister and President Zelenskiy welcomed other international commitments in this vein, including Poland's offer to provide a company of Leopard tanks," Sunak's spokesperson said. 

Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president's staff, thanked Britain for its new defense package. 

"This is an important contribution to the defense of freedom and democracy in Europe. We are grateful to Rishi Sunak and the (British) people for their help," he said on Twitter. 



Fragile Ceasefire Holding, Witkoff Says Peace Talks with Iran 'Promising'

People attend a gathering to support Iran's Armed Forces, after US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, in Tehran, Iran, June 24, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
People attend a gathering to support Iran's Armed Forces, after US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, in Tehran, Iran, June 24, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
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Fragile Ceasefire Holding, Witkoff Says Peace Talks with Iran 'Promising'

People attend a gathering to support Iran's Armed Forces, after US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, in Tehran, Iran, June 24, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
People attend a gathering to support Iran's Armed Forces, after US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, in Tehran, Iran, June 24, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

The ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump between Iran and Israel appeared to be holding on Wednesday a day after both countries signaled that their air war had ended, at least for now.

Each side claimed victory on Tuesday after 12 days of war, which the US joined with airstrikes in support of Israel to take out Iran's uranium-enrichment facilities.

Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, said late on Tuesday that talks between the United States and Iran were "promising" and that Washington was hopeful for a long-term peace deal.

"We are already talking to each other, not just directly but also through interlocutors. I think that the conversations are promising. We are hopeful that we can have a long-term peace agreement that resurrects Iran," Witkoff said in an interview on Fox News' "The Ingraham Angle" show.

"Now it's for us to sit down with the Iranians and get to a comprehensive peace agreement, and I am very confident that we are going to achieve that," he added, according to Reuters.

Trump's administration told the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday that its weekend strikes had "degraded" Iran's nuclear program.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that the attack had removed the nuclear threat against Israel and he was determined to thwart any attempt by Tehran to revive its weapons program.

"We have removed two immediate existential threats to us: the threat of nuclear annihilation and the threat of annihilation by 20,000 ballistic missiles," he said.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country had successfully ended the war in what he called a "great victory," according to Iranian media.

Israel launched the surprise air war on June 13, attacking Iranian nuclear facilities and killing top military commanders.

Iran retaliated with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites and cities.