The Mirror: UK to send Apache helicopters to Ukraine

The British authorities are planning to send Apache attack helicopters to Kyiv, following the tanks, which Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had previously announced about the upcoming dispatch. informs The Mirror newspaper, citing a source.

“Apache will be a game changer. The tanks will arrive first and it will take some time before the helicopters can be used. Other NATO members will now follow suit,” the source said.

London plans to supply up to four helicopters, but more Apaches will be needed “to deliver a strategic strike.” We are talking about the supply of Apache AH64 E, the publication calls this helicopter the most modern version, “which can destroy several targets in seconds.” Each Apache is said to be armed with up to 16 Hellfire anti-tank rounds, Hydra missiles and a 30mm chain gun.

The helicopters have a top speed of 186 miles per hour and can simultaneously detect over 250 potential targets up to 10 miles away. The article cites the cost of one such helicopter of about 70 million pounds. It is assumed that Ukrainian pilots will be trained in the UK, and the maintenance base may appear in a neighboring country, for example, in Poland.

A day earlier, the British government intended to supply Kyiv with Challenger 2 tanks. London’s assistance was discussed on Saturday by Prime Minister Sunak and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. After that, at the Russian Embassy in the UK declaredthat the planned supply of battle tanks to Kyiv will not bring the end of hostilities closer, but will only toughen them up.