UK vows to continue supporting Ukraine

(19 Jan 2023) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: ASSOCIATED PRESS Tapa Military Camp, Estonia - 19 January 2023 1. Various of soldiers in UK-made Challenger 2 tank 2. Tilt down of British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace and senior officials from Poland, the Baltic nations and other European countries posing for photograph 3. Wallace talking to Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur 4. SOUNDBITE (English) Ben Wallace, British Defense Secretary: "At the beginning of this week I announced in Parliament that we will send a squadron of Challenger 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine. We will send at least three batteries of AS-90 155 (mm) long-range deep-fire artillery. We will send a number of armored vehicles, including, I think the Bulldog, which is a variant of the old 432 armored personnel carrier, thousands of rounds of ammunition. And today I can say we're also going to send another 600 brimstone missiles into theatre, which will be incredibly important in helping Ukraine dominate the battlefield." 5. AS-90 artillery 6. Various of soldiers in armored personnel carriers 7. SOUNDBITE (English) Ben Wallace, British Defense Secretary: "For us it was currently the natural progression. We knew the United States were doing a very large package, I discussed it with the United States. You know, if you're going to donate armored personnel carriers, you need to complement that with tanks. We had some tanks that we thought could do that. That's what why we did it." 8. Various of Wallace talking to military 9. Various of soldiers fixing Challenger 2 10. SOUNDBITE (English) Ben Wallace, British Defense Secretary: "Yes, 14 is not is not the single magic ingredient. We hope this is about complementing the Bradleys that have gone in, the American Bradleys, and hopefully, you know, helping to lead the way, that there are maybe other nations that can donate tanks." 11. Various of Leopard 2 tank driving STORYLINE: British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace on Thursday vowed to send more military supplies to Ukraine. Wallace said the UK will send at least three batteries of AS-90 artillery, armored vehicles, thousands of rounds of ammunition and 600 Brimstone missiles, as well as the squadron of Challenger 2 tanks. Wallace told The Associated Press that the decision to send battle tanks was a “natural progression” of British military support for Ukraine and was discussed with the US. Wallace acknowledged that the Challenger shipment “is not the single magic ingredient” for Ukraine, which has said it needs 300 tanks, among other weapons, to expel Russian forces, but voiced hope that it will complement Bradley armored vehicles the US is already supplying and help "lead the way” for others to send more. Estonia also announced its largest military aid package to date, including howitzers, ammunition, artillery support equipment and grenade launchers. AP Video by Kostya Manenkov =========================================================== Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: [email protected]. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...