What happened? Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov issued a joint statement in which they emphasised that the first squadron of Challenger 2 tanks was not enough to achieve operational goals on the battlefield.
Source. The statement on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
Details. The government officials welcomed the UK's decision, but appealed to all countries that have Leopard 2 tanks in service to transfer the tanks. This applies to Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
"We call for this for the sake of millions of Ukrainian civilians who will continue to face mortal danger from the aggressor state and the terrorist state of russia if the Armed Forces do not receive the necessary reinforcement in a timely manner," the ministers commented.
At the same time, Volodymyr Zelensky made a similar statement during the Ukrainian Breakfast at the World Economic Forum. The President called on partners not to delay the provision of military assistance.
"We can't take advantage thanks to motivation alone. There are certain things on which sustainability depends. We expect to obtain these specific things," President Zelensky explained.
He added that Ukraine was experiencing a shortage of artillery, shells and equipment that could operate over long distances. The politician assured that the appropriate type of weaponry was needed primarily for strikes on the temporarily occupied territories, but not on the territory of russia.