Great Britain shared the approximate timeline for the British tanks’ arrival on the front line.

According to Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace, this could happen before summer.

He announced this on Monday in his speech at the Parliament, Reuters reports.

When asked when the 14 Challenger tanks will arrive in Ukraine, Wallace said:

“It’ll be this side of the summer or May – it’ll be probably towards Easter time.”

It should be noted that this year, Easter is celebrated on April 9 by Christians of the Western rite. Therefore, it is not entirely clear when the Ukrainian military will be able to use these tanks on the battlefield against the Russian invaders.

Besides, Wallace mentioned that security reasons prevented him from setting out the training timetable for Ukrainian forces to use the British main battle tanks.

However, he stressed that the training would begin with instruction on the operation of individual vehicles before progressing to how to fight in formation.

As previously reported, the British Ministry of Defense planned to deliver Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine by the end of March 2023. Until then, the Ukrainian forces would be trained intensively on how to operate and maintain the vehicles.

In mid-January, it was announced that the British government would hand over 14 Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine. Within the same aid package, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will receive 100 armored vehicles, including Bulldog tracked APCs, a battery of eight AS-90 155mm self-propelled guns (two more batteries will be provided later), dozens of drones, 100,000 rounds of ammunition, hundreds of missiles (GMLRS, Starstreak, AMRAAM), and spare parts for vehicles.

Previously, Ukrainian tank crews have arrived in the UK to start training in the Challenger 2 tank operation.

The Challenger 2 is a third-generation British main battle tank. It was designed and constructed by the British company Vickers Defence Systems. It is in service with the militaries of the United Kingdom and Oman. The Challenger 2 is equipped with a 120-millimeter 55-caliber-long L30A1 tank gun. The tank has a modern fire control system.