Twenty-thousand troops? We only have 25 main battle tanks working at best
The IndependentWhen news that the UK would be at the front of the queue to provide troops for a Ukraine peacekeeping force, possibly as many as 20,000, a contact from army headquarters at Andover messaged me: “Where’s this 20,000-figure come from? We couldn’t do this in a month of Sundays!” The next few days saw this “offer” drop to 10,000 to 12,000 troops for the as-yet-unspecified ground force – but the panic among army planners was much the same: there has been no requirement for such a deployment, the army is not set up for such numbers and has not been funded to do so. open image in gallery British troops take part in a Nato exercise in Romania on Wednesday And even assuming that the army could deploy 12 Archers as part of a Ukraine ground force, to make them credible they’d need the ammunition stocks. open image in gallery A Challenger 2 tank drives through the Drawsko Pomorskie training area in Poland So, what can the army offer for a Ukraine peacekeeping force?
History of this topic
Washington reveals why it will send Ukraine 'simpler version' of Abrams tanks
Firstpost
Ukrainian troops fire UK-donated artillery to mark end of training
The Independent
EXPLAINER: Why the US flipped on sending tanks to Ukraine
Associated Press
Western tanks set for Ukraine as UK questions battle-readiness of Russian rival
The Independent
Despite concerns, US to send 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine
Associated Press
U.S. and Germany will send battle tanks to Ukraine
LA Times
Britain considering sending tanks to Ukraine to help fight Russia
The Independent
Britain 'is considering supplying Ukraine with ten £4.2million Challenger 2 tanks
Daily Mail
Around 8,000 British troops to take part in biggest deployment in eastern Europe since Cold War
The IndependentDiscover Related