Britain sending
helicopters to Ukraine for first time - Ben Wallace
- Published
4 hours ago
Image source, Getty Images
By Jonathan Beale
Defence Correspondent
Britain is sending helicopters to Ukraine, Defence
Secretary Ben Wallace has said, the first piloted aircraft to be sent by the UK
since the war began.
Three former British military Sea Kings will be
provided and the first has already arrived, the BBC understands.
In the last six weeks, Ukrainian crews were
trained in the UK to fly and maintain the aircraft - to provide search and
rescue capabilities.
Mr Wallace said the UK would also send an
additional 10,000 artillery rounds.
He made the announcement from Oslo, where he is
meeting allies to discuss ongoing military support for Kyiv.
The defence secretary said the artillery rounds
would help the Ukrainian armed forces secure recently-liberated territory.
The Sea King was previously used by both the Royal
Air Force and the Royal Navy, with the last craft being retired by the Navy in
2018.
Few countries have sent manned aircraft to Ukraine
since the start of the conflict, and requests by its government for Western
nations to send fighter jets so far remain unanswered.
At the weekend, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak used a visit to Kyiv to set out a new £50m package of defence
aid which included 125 anti-aircraft guns and equipment to counter
Iranian-supplied drones.
That followed an announcement earlier this month
that an additional 1,000 surface-to-air missiles would be sent.
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The UK is also supplying Ukrainian troops with
winter equipment, including heavy duty sleeping bags and mats, as well as
heated accommodation and cold-weather clothing.
Temperatures during winter can fall as low as -20C
in parts of Ukraine.
Britain remains the second largest donor of
military aid to Ukraine after the United States, and speaking from Oslo Mr
Wallace said its support would remain "unwavering".
The trip to Oslo will see Mr Wallace host a
meeting of the Northern Group - a UK-led initiative to bolster defence
cooperation between the countries of northern Europe - on board HMS Queen
Elizabeth.
Defence ministers from across the region are
expected to discuss the implications of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Sweden
and Finland's applications for Nato membership, and the broader security
picture for northern Europe.
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