The United Kingdom announced on Monday (17 January) that it had begun shipping anti-tank weapons to Ukraine to help the country defend itself against a potential attack by Russia.
According to Secretary of State for Defence of the United Kingdom, Ben Wallace, they are "not strategic weapons" and the weapons "do not pose a threat to Russia". Wallace says that the deliveries are intended for "self-defence".
“These are short-range …. but nevertheless it would make people pause and think what they were doing and if tanks were to roll into Ukraine, invade it, then they would be part of the defence mechanism”, he said.
His Ukrainian counterpart, Oleksii Reznikov, reacted enthusiastically to the announcement. "Ukraine greatly appreciates the decision of the United Kingdom", Reznikov said.
Tensions between Ukraine and Russia have been running high in recent weeks. Western countries and NATO are worried about Russian troops building up along the border with Ukraine and fear a possible invasion.
