Ukrainian troops fly to Britain to start tank training

UKRAINIAN troops have arrived in Britain to train in the Challenger 2 tanks which the UK is handing over to help them defend their homeland, the Minis-try of defence said yesterday.

Britain has pledged a squadron of 14 Chal-lenger 2 tanks. the US has also agreed to send Abrams tanks, in part to unblock a consignment of German-manufactured Leopard 2 tanks from a coalition of euro-pean nations. Yesterday the Mod posted photos of the specialist troops from Kyiv getting off an aircraft. It added: ‘Ukrainian tank crews have arrived in the UK to begin training for their continued fight against Russia. the UK will provide Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine alongside global partner nations – demonstrating the strength of support for Ukraine, internationally.’ Mean-while in Ukraine the city of Kherson came under fresh Russian shelling yesterday. In Kyiv, mourners gathered to remember a British volunteer killed while attempting a rescue mission from the eastern Ukrainian town of Soledar.

Andrew Bagshaw and another British vol-unteer Chris Parry were killed in an attempted humanitarian evacuation, Mr Parry’s family has said. Several dozen mourn-ers, including volunteers who knew Mr Bag-shaw and others who came to express their condolences, packed into a small church near Kyiv’s ancient St Sophia cathedral.

Ignat Ivlev-Yorke, a volunteer who organ-ised the service, said: ‘he was a very quiet person, he just wanted to help people.

‘he felt that this was his mission. that he had a duty to do it.’