UK Begins Supplying Ukraine With Light Anti-Tank Weapons Without Publicity

Meanwhile, military aircraft with the help of Britain flew over German airspace, after Germany had earlier vetoed supplies to Ukraine through a NATO channel.

Britain has begun supplying Ukraine with anti-tank weapons to help it protect itself against a potential invasion by Russia, which has massed troops near the Ukrainian border. This was announced by British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, according to Reuters.

“We have decided to supply Ukraine with light anti-tank weapon systems,” Wallace told parliament.

He said the first systems had already been delivered on Monday, January 17, without publicity, and a small number of British military personnel would provide training over a short period of time.

He did not specify the quantity or type of weapons being sent, but said: “These are not strategic weapons and do not pose a threat to Russia. They need to be used for self-defence.”

“They are short-range… but they can make people stop and think about what they are doing, and if tanks enter Ukraine and invade it, they will become part of the defence mechanism,” the minister said.

British journalist George Allison wrote on Twitter that British C-17 transport aircraft are carrying light anti-tank weapons to Ukraine.

Judging by the route taken, the aircraft did not follow the shortest path; they flew around German territory, which had earlier vetoed NATO weapons supplies to Ukraine.

The UK Ministry of Defence later denied, in a comment to the German outlet Bild, reports that Germany had refused British aircraft transporting defensive weapons to Ukraine permission to fly over its territory.

“Germany did not deny access to its airspace because the UK did not submit a request, and there was no dispute between the UK and Germany on this issue,” the journalist quoted the British ministry's comment.

At the same time, the ministry did not answer the question of why the Royal Air Force had flown around Germany and chosen not to use its airspace to fly to Ukraine by the shortest route.

Earlier, the German Ministry of Defence told the journalist that the German side had not prohibited British aircraft from entering German airspace.

The Guardian reports that the weapons supplied are most likely to be a new-generation handheld light anti-tank weapon with a range of several hundred metres, designed to combat heavy Russian tanks.

The weapon has similar capabilities but is not as powerful as the Javelin anti-tank missiles supplied by the US to Ukraine since 2018. 

The Times reports that Britain is sending Ukraine next-generation light anti-tank weapons (NLAW), which can destroy a tank at a distance of 800 metres and penetrate armour more than 500 mm thick.

The weapon weighs 12.5 kg, was used against the Taliban in Afghanistan, is fired from the shoulder and can destroy a tank with a single shot. It can be deployed in five seconds.