Ukraine receives UK Challenger tanks amid conflict with Russia

KYIV: Ukraine has received its first British main battle Challenger tanks and other Western-made armoured vehicles, CNN reported citing Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov.

In a Facebook post, Oleksii Reznikov said, "Today, I had the honour to test the newest addition to our armoured units together with the commander of the Airborne Forces, Major General Maksym 'Mike' Myrhorodskyi, and our paratroopers."

He stated that Ukraine received Challengers (main battle tanks) from the United Kingdom, Strykers (infantry fighting vehicles) and Cougars (infantry mobility vehicles from the mine-resistant ambush-protected family) from the United States, and Marders (infantry fighting vehicles) from Germany, according to CNN report.

Reznikov expressed gratitude to Ukraine's allies for their continued support. He said, "A year ago, no one could have imagined that the support of our partners would be so strong." He further said, "This year, everything has changed. Ukraine has changed the world. The resilience of the Ukrainian people and the skill of our army convinced everyone that Ukraine will win."

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has announced that Germany has delivered German Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, as per the CNN report. He made the remarks during a joint news conference with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in Rotterdam on Monday.

Previously, Germany previously pledged 18 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.
"Germany and the Netherlands have jointly delivered howitzers and ammunition and are just preparing, together with Denmark, to deliver Leopard 1 main battle tanks to support Ukraine," Scholz said. He further said that Germany "just now delivered" the "very modern" tanks.

Amid the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, multiple explosions were reported in Kyiv late Monday night (local time), the city's Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said in a post on Telegram.

Vitaliy Klitschko in a Telegram post said, "Explosions in the capital, initially in Obolon and Sviatoshynskyi residential districts. All services are being sent to the scene. More details will follow later," according to CNN.

Fire and rescue services are responding to the site of a building fire in Sviatoshynskyi district, he said.

The Kyiv region's military administration in a telegram post said that the city's air raid sirens were activated ahead of the explosions. The Kyiv region military administration further said that the danger in the adjacent region to Kyiv city remains and air defence forces remain on the alert.