The British government has announced that it will give Ukraine helicopters for the first time, the first ones have already arrived in Kyiv, the BBC and The Times report.

These are 3 Sea King helicopters that Kyiv will receive as part of the new military aid package proposed by London, and Ukrainian crews are already trained to operate and maintain helicopters with search and rescue capabilities.

British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace also announced that Britain would send 10,000 additional munitions to Ukraine to help Ukrainian forces defend newly liberated areas such as the west bank of the Dnieper after the withdrawal of Russian troops.

Britain has already sent Ukraine an improved model of the Brimstone laser-guided missile, twice the size of the previous model, which can be used as mobile artillery batteries and launched from trucks.

Wallace also said the British government had committed to providing 1,000 surface-to-air missiles and 125 anti-aircraft guns to Ukrainian forces in response to repeated Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

The British defense minister announced this package of military aid ahead of a meeting with NATO defense ministers in Norway.

Britain will host 12 defense ministers from Nordic countries, Germany, Poland and other countries aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth, one of the Royal Navy’s two aircraft carriers and its largest warship, which is currently moored in Oslo, where it will later depart for Operation Achillean ”, a series of military exercises conducted jointly with NATO allies in the Arctic.

Technical characteristics of Sea King helicopters, which Ukraine will receive from Great Britain

These helicopters were previously used by both the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy of Great Britain, with the latter model being withdrawn from service by the Royal Navy in 2018.

Manufactured from 1969 to 1995, Sea King helicopters have a crew of 2-4 people, a flight range of 1,230 kilometers and a maximum cruising speed of 207 km/h at sea level, equipped with two Rolls Royce HI 400 -2 Gnome engines.

They can be equipped with 4 Mark 44, Mark 46 or Sting Ray torpedoes and can carry 4 depth charges for anti-submarine operations. Their design also provides for the installation of a machine gun in the area of ​​the aircraft door to increase firepower on “soft” targets.

Sea King helicopters were used by the British military during the Falklands War, the Persian Gulf War and the UN intervention in the Balkans in the early 1990s.

This model of helicopters is in service with the armed forces of Germany, Norway, India, Pakistan and Egypt, and was also previously operated by Australia, Belgium and Qatar.

The government in London continues military support for Ukrainian forces

Ben Wallace’s announcement of a new military aid package for Ukraine comes after new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made his first official visit to Kyiv last Saturday, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyi and other Ukrainian officials.

A spokesman for the British prime minister said that Sunak had come to Ukraine to meet with Zelenskyi and “confirm Britain’s continued support”.

Shortly after taking office on October 25, Rishi Sunak promised Zelensky during a telephone conversation that the UK’s support for Ukraine would be firm and “stronger than at any time during his premiership.”

“Both leaders agreed on the need to continue to put pressure on Putin’s barbaric regime by extending economic sanctions,” the British Prime Minister’s spokesman also said.

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, one of the most active supporters of Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24, has assured Kyiv that his resignation will not affect London’s support for Ukraine, regardless of who succeeds him as leader of the Conservative Party. and the Prime Minister.

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