The Sunday Times writes that the Ukrainian military is using drones received from Great Britain during an operation in the Kursk region of Russia. These drones — the name and technical characteristics of which the publication does not specify — "played a key role" in the offensive.
In addition, the Ukrainians used British Challenger 2 tanks during the Kursk offensive. A number of British media, including the BBC and Sky News, noted that this may be the first time that British tanks transferred to Ukraine were used in combat on Russian territory.
As The Sunday Times notes, the new British government headed by Keir Starmer has decided to more openly recognize the use of British military equipment by Ukrainians, including on the territory of Russia.
"We will not shy away from the idea of using British weapons in Russia to defend Ukraine. We should be proud to have given something that helps Ukraine defend itself," said an unnamed source in the British government.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer also called for the development of plans to provide Ukraine with a wider range of support.
"It is not only about military support, but also industrial, economic and diplomatic support. If Putin succeeds in Ukraine, he is not going to stop there. But the economic consequences of this are also huge," a defense source said.
The only British weapon that Ukraine cannot yet use on the territory of Russia is the Storm Shadow long-range missiles. The British government is in favor of lifting this ban, but, according to the publication, it cannot yet do so because of the position of its allies — France and the United States.
British officials and experts believe their European allies are too worried about provoking an escalation from Russia, even though their fears are misplaced. Sources of the publication stated that there is no evidence that the Russian Federation has taken any steps to use its nuclear arsenal since the beginning of the war.
The Kursk operation
For the first time, it became known about the offensive of the Defense Forces in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation on August 6 — then Russian telegram channels and "military corps" wrote about it.
Until August 12, Ukraine did not officially confirm the operation in the region, until the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi indormed that Ukraine controls almost 1 000 km² of the Kursk region of Russia. The exact number of captured Russians is unknown, but high-ranking Ukrainian officials (Syrskyi in particular) stated that hundreds of Russian soldiers were captured on certain days of the operation.
For self-defense, the Ukrainian military formed a buffer zone on the territory of the Kursk region. Ukraine plans to open humanitarian corridors there for the evacuation of civilians, admit representatives of the UN and the Red Cross, and arrange the supply of food and medicine.
On August 15, Ukraine created the first military command post in the Kursk region.