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. 



Russia, North Korea Foreign Ministers Meet, Pyongyang Backs Ukraine War

12 July 2025, North Korea, Wonsan: Sergei Lavrov (2nd L), Foreign Minister of Russia, and his North Korean counterpart Choe Son-hui (3rd R) hold a meeting. Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry/TASS via ZUMA Press/dpa
12 July 2025, North Korea, Wonsan: Sergei Lavrov (2nd L), Foreign Minister of Russia, and his North Korean counterpart Choe Son-hui (3rd R) hold a meeting. Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry/TASS via ZUMA Press/dpa
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Russia, North Korea Foreign Ministers Meet, Pyongyang Backs Ukraine War

12 July 2025, North Korea, Wonsan: Sergei Lavrov (2nd L), Foreign Minister of Russia, and his North Korean counterpart Choe Son-hui (3rd R) hold a meeting. Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry/TASS via ZUMA Press/dpa
12 July 2025, North Korea, Wonsan: Sergei Lavrov (2nd L), Foreign Minister of Russia, and his North Korean counterpart Choe Son-hui (3rd R) hold a meeting. Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry/TASS via ZUMA Press/dpa

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with his North Korean counterpart in the coastal city of Wonsan on Saturday, during which Pyongyang reaffirmed its support for Russia’s military actions in Ukraine, the TASS state news agency reported.

Lavrov flew out of Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur on Friday following the ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting, arriving the same day in Wonsan, North Korea, home to a newly opened seaside resort but also known for its missile and naval facilities, reported Reuters.

Lavrov's visit is the latest high-level meeting between the two countries as they upgrade their strategic cooperation to now include a mutual defense pact.

"We exchanged views on the situation surrounding the Ukrainian crisis ... Our Korean friends confirmed their firm support for all the objectives of the special military operation, as well as for the actions of the Russian leadership and armed forces," TASS quoted Lavrov as saying.

The South Korean intelligence service has said North Korea may be preparing to deploy additional troops in July or August, after sending more than 10,000 soldiers to fight with Russia in the war against Ukraine.

North Korea has agreed to dispatch 6,000 military engineers and builders for reconstruction in Russia's Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces launched a mass cross-border incursion nearly a year ago.

Russian news agencies also reported Lavrov's arrival and said after North Korea he is expected to travel to China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting, which is set to take place on Monday and Tuesday.

TASS said the new Wonsan coastal resort could boost Russian tourism to North Korea, citing the resumption of direct trains from Moscow to Pyongyang and a project to build a bridge across the Tumen River forming part of the boundary between North Korea, China and Russia.

TASS quoted Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko as saying more high-level delegations would visit North Korea later this year.

Rudenko said the accord on strategic partnership "clearly meets the changing needs over recent decades and strengthens traditionally friendly, good-neighborly Russian-Korean relations to a qualitatively new level as allies."