Great Britain is for the first time considering the issue of supplying British tanks to Ukraine, Sky News sources inform. About 10 such heavy combat vehicles would be enough to equip a tank company.

Discussions to supply a number of Challenger II tanks to the British Army have been going on for “several weeks”, according to a Western source familiar with the discussions.

Such a decision would mean a significant increase in Western support for Ukraine and could encourage other NATO countries, particularly Germany, to follow suit.

“This will also encourage others to send tanks,” a Ukrainian source also told British television.

Rishi Sunak’s government has not yet made a final decision, but if it is approved, Britain will become the first country to respond to the Ukrainian leaders’ request to be equipped with powerful Western tanks, Sky News notes.

Germany currently has no plans to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, a government spokesman said on Monday. On the other hand, the Minister of Economy of Germany stated that Berlin cannot rule out the supply of Leopard tanks. Last week, Germany announced that it would send Marder combat vehicles to Kyiv.

The other day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked France for the AMX-10 RC vehicles, noting that other allies should take this as a signal and that “there is no rational reason why Ukraine is still not equipped with Western tanks.”