LONDON

- With unparalleled generosity, the United Kingdom is lavishing Ukraine with military support, and only the United States has given it support.

To everyone's surprise, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson appeared last Saturday in the streets of Kyiv, accompanied by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, to announce an increase in the volume of military support provided by his country to Ukraine.

In a remarkable development, London announced the possibility of sending anti-ship missiles capable of attacking Russian ships and battleships, which bomb a number of Ukrainian cities, in addition to armored vehicles and advanced missile systems.

While Germany announced that it had reached the limit in supplying Ukraine with weapons from its stores, Britain was still sending more, and even summoned officials from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense to visit London and meet with senior army commanders to find out their needs for weapons.

A Ukrainian soldier prepares to launch a US-made Javelin missile during an exercise (Reuters)

Thousands of missiles

Britain is expected to send about 6,000 missiles, including anti-tank missiles and high-explosive bombs, and Britain says that all of these missiles are defensive missiles.

London has already sent 4,000 anti-tank missiles since the start of the war on February 24, including Javelin missiles and laser-guided anti-armor missiles, which means that the total missiles provided to Ukraine from British aid amounted to 10,000 Rocket.

The value of this aid amounts to more than 130 million dollars, as well as the allocation of 30 million dollars from the British Foreign Office budget devoted to security and stability conflicts, to pay the salaries of Ukrainian soldiers and pilots.

Dozens of armor

The Ukrainian army is expected to receive about 120 Mastiff armored cars from the British army, which are armored vehicles for transporting soldiers and were used by the British army during the invasion of Afghanistan.

Mastiff armored vehicle has an automated missile launcher platform (Getty Images)

Britain will withdraw a number of sensitive devices from these armored vehicles before delivering them to Ukraine, for fear of them falling into the hands of the Russians during the battles, and learning about the technology adopted in them.

This armored vehicle is capable of carrying 8 soldiers in addition to the driver, and it can carry machine guns, in addition to an automatic platform for launching missiles, and its maximum speed is 90 kilometers per hour.

These vehicles will arrive in a country neighboring Ukraine for the purpose of training Ukrainian soldiers on them, before entering the battlefield, and the aim is to give the Ukrainian army speed of movement and mobility.

anti-aircraft

Among the advanced missile systems that are arriving to the Ukrainian army from its British counterpart are the "Starstreak" anti-aircraft missiles.

It is a short-range, high-speed air defense missile, which can shoot down combat aircraft, and is distinguished by the fact that it has 3 laser-guided launchers to launch multiple strikes on targets with a maximum speed of about 3,700 kilometers per hour.

The French company Thales, the manufacturer of Star Strike, says about this missile as if it consists of 3 high-explosive arrows, and it is launched from a rocket-engine-powered platform, which gives it strong thrust, and the company says that this missile is almost resistant to countermeasures. for any target.

Anti-shipping

News of Britain's attempt to supply Ukraine with anti-ship missiles remains officially unconfirmed, despite the fact that more than one British media outlet reported statements about military officials confirming London's intention to grant these missiles to Kiev.

A picture I took the other day of a harpoon missile pic.twitter.com/3fZ4dObVav

— TheKeyMaster 🇺🇦🇬🇧🇮🇪 (@The_key_master) April 9, 2022

This is related to the American-made "Harpoon" missiles, whose entry into the battlefield will constitute a qualitative development in its course, especially in the Black Sea, which is dominated by Russia.

The length of this missile exceeds 5 meters, and it is one of the most approved missiles in the navies in the world, as it has about 600 warships belonging to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

The "Harpoon" is a long-range missile, with a range of 112 kilometers, and a speed of 860 kilometers per hour, with a huge explosive capacity, so that it can carry about 600 kilograms of explosive materials, with high accuracy in hitting and penetrating the target.

Artillery

Among the weapons expected to reach Ukraine is the British-made AS-90 howitzer, and discussions are still going on between London and Kiev about how this artillery will reach the Ukrainian army.

The British army used this type of artillery during the occupation of Iraq. The range of this artillery is 25 kilometers, and it is expected to help the Ukrainian army in major battles in the eastern regions.

#Polish #ARMY AS-90 Braveheart 155mm self-propelled howitzer.@Mosn09783794 @Irfan_BalochPDF @BanditSanitizer pic.twitter.com/gseYxqFjxh

— blue-boy-786 (@blueboy7862) April 3, 2022

The British newspaper "Daily Mail" indicates that there is coordination between Britain and the United States in order to provide Ukraine with hypersonic missiles, in the event that battles with Russian forces continue, but this option will remain a last option, given the development of these missiles, Which is about 5 times faster than the speed of sound.

On the other hand, media reports rule out the possibility of providing Kyiv with hypersonic missiles, given that these missiles are still under development and testing, and they are missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, and they can be launched from aircraft, and their entry into the war will complicate the situation further.

All the previously mentioned weapons will be added to the US-made Javelin missiles, which Ukraine obtained from Britain and the United States, which, according to military estimates, contributed to providing strong support to the Ukrainian army.