British weapons including anti-tank missiles have arrived in Ukraine after the cargo plane was blocked from flying over German air space.
Two RAF transporters flew badly needed missile systems to Kiev’s forces, and troops aboard the planes will remain in Ukraine to teach their counterparts how to combat Russian tanks.
Footage shows the consignment being transported from a plane at a Ukraine airport, in a bid to counter the imminent threat of a Russian invasion, with 100,000 of their troops stationed on the border.
The weapons were sent on RAF C-17 planes which took a longer route over Danish rather than German airspace.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the deployment came ‘in light of the increasingly threatening behaviour from Russia’.
Germany has refused to provide Ukraine with weapons, with Chancellor Chancellor Olaf Scholz blocking Britain from flying over their airspace to deliver the cargo through fear of angering Vladimir Putin.
British weapons including anti-tank missiles have arrived in Ukraine after the cargo plane was blocked from flying over German air space
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry confirms it has received a shipment of ‘light anti-tank weapons’ provided by the UK
Scholz, who took the job from Angela Merkel last month, has tried to maintain his predecessor’s warm relations with Moscow by refusing to supply Kiev with arms and ruling out sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 gas line if an attack goes ahead.
He insisted on Monday that Germany has a long-standing policy of not exporting weapons even for defensive purposes, and does not intend to change it.
The same day, Scholz also dodged a question from a reporter over whether the Nord Stream 2 pipeline could be targeted for sanctions if Russia attacks.
The weapons flown to Ukraine are understood to include shoulder-fired missiles, such as the AT4 84mm anti-armour system which is widely used by Nato members.
Two RAF transporters flew badly needed missile systems to Kiev’s forces, and troops aboard the planes will remain in Ukraine
The weapons were sent on RAF C-17 planes which took a longer route over Danish rather than German airspace
As the Bundestag continues to oppose involvement, flightpath tracking data shows how British aircraft are avoiding German airspace en route to ferrying anti-armour weaponry to Ukraine
The weapons flown to Ukraine are understood to include shoulder-fired missiles, such as the AT4 84mm anti-armour system which is widely used by Nato members
In eastern Ukraine – the region most likely to see conflict between British-trained troops and Russian soldiers – the weapon could destroy advancing tanks and combat vehicles, helicopters and aircraft flying at low altitude.
UK defence chiefs fear Putin will opt for the ‘nightmare scenario’ of a full invasion of Ukraine as tensions rise towards tipping point,.
The White House warned yesterday the situation was ‘extremely dangerous’ and that Moscow could launch an attack ‘at any point’.
It had been thought Putin would choose the ‘simple option’ of sending troops into the Donbass region in south-eastern Ukraine and then negotiate for it to become an independent state, providing a buffer between pro-western Ukraine and Russia.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the deployment came ‘in light of the increasingly threatening behaviour from Russia’
Germany has refused to provide Ukraine with weapons, with Chancellor Chancellor Olaf Scholz blocking Britain from flying over their airspace
Scholz insisted on Monday that Germany has a long-standing policy of not exporting weapons even for defensive purposes, and does not intend to change it
As the region is already occupied by pro-Russian separatists, and has been in a state of war since 2014, it was believed it would offer little resistance.
But the latest intelligence now has Ministry of Defence chiefs worried about a much larger incursion, raising fears of warfare engulfing cities and high civilian death tolls.
They believe Mr Putin’s troops are being positioned in line with his new objective, with armoured divisions set to head into neighbouring Belarus on exercise but now stationed within striking distance of Kiev.
Last night a senior defence source said: ‘We strongly believe [Putin’s] preference is for a full invasion rather than a limited offensive. In a sense he might as well go for as much of Ukraine as he can get hold of because the penalties are just the same.
Olaf Scholz, Germany’s new Chancellor, has been accused of weakening NATO, the EU and his own country with a soft stance towards Russia even as Putin gears up to invade Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin (pictured during a meeting at the Kremlin on Tuesday) has 100,000 troops and military hardware along Ukraine border, say security analysts
The UK’s Ministry of Defence fears Putin will inflict large-scale warfare engulfing cities and high civilian death tolls (Pictured: A convoy of Russian armoured vehicles moves along a highway in Crimea, Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022)
The White House warned yesterday that the situation was ‘extremely dangerous’ (Pictured: Anatoliy, a Ukrainian soldier with the 56th Brigade, in a trench on the front line on January 18, 2022 in Pisky, Ukraine)
‘Also, if he just occupies the eastern regions he will never be able to take back the whole of Ukraine because of the inevitable strengthening of Ukrainian forces in the remainder of the country in the aftermath.
‘It is the nightmare scenario.’
Putin is aware that as Ukraine does not belong to Nato, there will be no military response by Western states.
Similarly, the economic sanctions threatened by the US and the UK apply regardless of the scale of such action.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday before holding talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Geneva on Friday in the latest attempt to defuse the crisis.
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