On April 25, 2022, British Defense Minister Ben Wallace announced in the House of Commons of the British Parliament that the UK had already provided military assistance to Ukraine in the amount of 200 million pounds, and that the total amount of this military assistance could increase to 500 million pounds.
Combat vehicle of the British self-propelled short-range anti-aircraft missile system Stormer HVM, equipped with anti-aircraft guided missiles Starstreak (c) Gert Burkert-Opitz
Wallace denied the reports that appeared on the eve of the alleged plans to send 155-mm/39 self-propelled howitzers AS90 to Ukraine from the presence of the British army, calling these systems "obsolete", but said that the possibility of transferring British 105-mm light towed guns L118 to Ukraine was being considered. Wallace also said that the UK will send Ukraine a "small number" of Stormer HVM self-propelled short-range anti-aircraft missile systems equipped with Starstreak anti-aircraft guided missiles. "These Stormer vehicles will provide the Ukrainian forces with improved short-range air defense capabilities both day and night," the minister said.
Wallace also indicated that the UK is considering the possibility of supplying Brimstone land-based light anti-ship missiles that could be used to protect Odessa from any invasion from the sea.
Wallace also confirmed that the British side offers to send Challenger 2 tanks of the British army to Poland for their long-term deployment together with the Polish army, so that the Polish side could, in turn, transfer to Ukraine an additional number (up to 100 units) of T-72 tanks from the availability. Challenger 2 tanks (according to the British media, two squadrons - 28 vehicles) with British crews will remain in Poland until the Polish troops receive the ordered American M1A2 SEP v.3 Abrams tanks.
The minister said that "there is a race to equip Ukraine with the same means of long-range fire destruction that Russia has, so that they [Ukraine] are not overtaken and, even more so, crushed. The next three weeks are key. Ukraine needs more long-range artillery and ammunition, both Russian and NATO calibers. They also need anti-ship missiles to counter Russian ships capable of shelling Ukrainian cities."
Answering questions from parliamentarians regarding plans to supply artillery to Ukraine, Wallace said that "we first of all started with a search around the world for 152-mm Soviet [guns] so that [Ukraine] could continue using them, and in parallel with a number of other countries we considered either 105-mm our main light guns, or 155 mm in more mobile variants than the bulky armored AS90. One of the things that this modern battlefield demonstrates is that it's better for you to quickly change your position after you have opened fire with your guns, because you can be found very quickly by fairly cheap standard UAVs."
Wallace said that to date, the UK has supplied Ukraine with 5,361 portable NLAW anti-tank missile systems (including 1,000 of them were delivered only last week), more than 200 missiles of the American Javelin anti-tank missile system and 104 "high-speed and low-speed" anti-aircraft guided missiles of the Starstreak complex (under "low-speed", apparently, they mean Martlet missiles). Also, unnamed armored vehicles, communications equipment, night vision goggles, headphones, 1,360 unnamed "bunker buster ammunition", 4.5 tons of plastic explosives, more than 90 thousand field rations, more than 10 pallets with medical equipment, more than 3,000 bulletproof vests, almost 77 thousand protective helmets, 3,000 pairs of shoes, and much more were transferred to Ukraine.
He also confirmed the package of additional British military assistance to Ukraine in the amount of 100 million pounds announced in early April, according to which 120 armored vehicles, anti-ship missiles and barrage ammunition should be delivered.
Wallace also said that the British Ministry of Finance has agreed to allocate funding for the purchase of new weapons, instead of those sent to Ukraine, and the restoration of stocks of these weapons of the British armed forces has already begun.
According to Wallace, the purpose of British military support should be to help Ukraine "choose where it wants to make peace," but added that, in his opinion, Russia should be expelled from the whole country, returning it to its former borders in 2014. He said: "I want to expel Putin not only to the pre-February borders. He illegally invaded Crimea, he illegally invaded Donetsk, and he must comply with international law and eventually leave Ukraine."
From the bmpd side, we point out that earlier on April 18, the British newspaper "The Sun" reported that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson decided to transfer to Ukraine from the presence of the British army a batch of self-propelled Stormer HVM SAMs, which are the installation of the StarStreak SAM on the chassis of a light tracked Stormer armored personnel carrier. The Stormer HVM complex had been demonstrated to the Ukrainian military at the Salisbury Plain training ground two weeks earlier. The British Army in the 1990s received 156 Stormer HVM combat vehicles, of which about 40 remain in service (according to other sources - 62), and the rest are in storage.
