‘Captured, undamaged Challenger 2, shown on Moscow’s Red Square’
LONDON, UK — “Imagine the propaganda coup of a captured, intact Challenger 2 being paraded in Red Square in Moscow! It doesn’t bear thinking about.” This is what British Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Crawford told the British Daily Express. He spoke on the topic of what Russia would do if it captured a British Challenger 2 tank in Ukraine.
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Lieutenant Colonel Crawford sees such a picture as a blow to Britain’s reputation. BulgarianMilitary.com recalls that a British Challenger 2 tank was destroyed only once, not by the enemy, but by friendly fire. This happened in 2003 in Basra, Iraq. The lieutenant colonel of the British armed forces believes that Russia will seek to capture or destroy such tanks.
He acknowledges that Challenger 2 is not new, cutting-edge technology. These tanks, he says, are a great machine, but since 1998, when they entered service, they have lacked major improvements and can probably be considered nearing obsolescence, Crawford writes.
Earlier, the Chinese media wrote that the British Challenger 2 tanks, which should arrive in Ukraine soon, are equipped in such a way that they are completely useless in most cases.
What do they say in China?
According to the author of the article in Paper, the Challenger 2 tanks are not designed to use projectiles of conventional materials. For this reason, Great Britain, in order not to “disgrace” itself and make its equipment useful to Kyiv, is ready to give shells with depleted uranium along with the tanks.
However, as the publication notes, these projectiles were produced back in the 90s. I.e. they may expire. It is for these reasons that it is believed that these projectiles may not work on the battlefield. However, these are assumptions and there is no way to confirm whether they are factually true.
In addition, the author added that most likely one of the main goals of Great Britain is to harm the territories that now belong to Russia. “As depleted uranium poisons the land, water, and air, making everything uninhabitable and causing cancer, Britain is counting on the same effect in the new Russian regions,” he stressed.
Russia’s response
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Britain’s delivery of depleted uranium munitions to Ukraine would be a step toward further escalation of the conflict.
We recall that British Deputy Minister of Defense Annabelle Goldie said that London will supply Ukraine with shells containing depleted uranium.
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