British plane dodged German airspace delivered missiles to Ukraine

The British C-17 squadron chose an unusually long flight route, rounding German airspace to carry out the task of transferring a series of anti-tank missiles to Ukraine.

British plane dodged German airspace delivered missiles to Ukraine

“Another batch of international technical assistance has been sent from the UK to Ukraine. This time, our British partner has provided us with many new anti-tank weapons,” the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said in a statement yesterday.

Video released by the Ukrainian military shows the Royal Air Force C-17 transport carrying a series of anti-tank missile launchers landing at a Ukrainian airport. The consignments are then unloaded and transferred to military trucks, which are moved to storage.

British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace earlier confirmed that the UK was providing “light weapons systems, specialized anti-tank and defensive” to help Ukraine defend itself in the event of a Russian attack.

However, data on civilian aviation tracking site FlightRadar24 shows that C-17s from the UK made the unusually long journey to deliver weapons to Ukraine. Instead of taking the shortest route, flying directly over Germany , the British transport chose to fly north, through Danish airspace to enter Ukraine.

This is notable because Berlin refused to send weapons to Kiev last month. Ukrainian media reported that Germany also prevented Ukraine from receiving rifles and light anti-drone weapons (UAV) from the US and Lithuania in recent months.

The British Daily Mail , citing sources, said that Germany had banned the British C-17 squadron from flying over the country’s airspace when transferring weapons to Ukraine. However, a spokesman for the British Ministry of Defense denied the information, saying that Germany did not ban its aircraft from its airspace because the UK did not submit a proposal. “The two sides do not have any controversy surrounding the issue,” this person said.

A spokesman for the German Ministry of Defense also confirmed that Britain did not register aircraft transport to pass through German airspace and that the C-17s were “not prohibited from entering the country’s airspace”. However, the two sides did not explain why the British transport aircraft made the unusually long journey during the journey to Ukraine.

Tensions between Russia and the West recently escalated after the US, NATO said Russia sent about 70,000-100,000 troops close to the border with Ukraine, expressing concern that the country could launch an all-out war. Russia denies that it intends to attack Ukraine, insisting that all military moves on its western border are purely for defensive purposes.

Western countries have recently repeatedly warned that Russia will “pay a heavy price” or “suffer a painful blow” if it attacks Ukraine in any form, while increasing the supply of light weapons and anti-tank missiles to Ukraine. Kiev. The Kremlin meanwhile asked the West not to cross Russia’s red lines and accept the security demands made by the country.