The UK has exhausted its supply of defense equipment that it could provide to Ukraine, The Telegraph reported, citing an unnamed senior British military official.
“Britain has run out of defense equipment to donate to Ukraine, and other countries should step in and shoulder more of the burden,” the official said.
According to the Telegraph’s source, London will continue supplying weapons to Kyiv, but there is no prospect of the UK supplying Ukraine with more British tanks and air defense.
“We will continue to source equipment to provide for Ukraine, but what they need now is things like air defense assets and artillery ammunition and we’ve run dry on all that.”
The source stated that the burden of providing billions in aid to Ukraine should not fall solely on the UK. He argued that while the UK has already donated significant amounts of weapons and money, it needs support from allies. “Giving billions more doesn’t mean giving billions of British kit,” the official said.
They explained that the UK has provided Ukraine with many of its anti-tank and anti-aircraft missile systems and essential ammunition. But reserves of these weapons are now severely depleted.
He noted that tanks are in very short supply in the UK military, with few available to send while maintaining national security commitments.
Since February 2022, the UK has supplied Ukraine with more than 12,000 anti-tank weapons, 300,000 rounds of artillery ammunition, thousands of air defense missiles, and self-propelled artillery.
More than 23,500 servicemen from Ukraine have already received combat training at army bases across the UK, receiving instruction on skills that include weapons handling and battlefield first aid. In August 2023, 900 Ukrainian marines completed training in the UK, practicing to conduct beach raids and amphibious operations.
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- British defense company BAE plans to produce 105mm light guns in Ukraine – Reuters
