UK donates three Sea King helicopters to Ukraine

The three Westland WS-61 Sea Kings donated by the United Kingdom are the first Western-designed helicopters Ukraine has received since the start of the conflict with Russia.

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The Sea Kings will be used for search and rescue (SAR) missions. According to the BBC, over the past six weeks, Ukrainian crews have been trained in the UK to fly and maintain the helicopters. Apparently the first of these Sea King has already been delivered.

The announcement was made by UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace from Oslo, where he is meeting with officials from allied countries to discuss further support to Ukraine.

See also: Sweden to send «record» aid package to Ukraine

Wallace said the UK would also send an additional 10,000 artillery shells.

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Over the weekend, brand new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak used a visit to Kiev to unveil a new military aid package valued at £50 million, including 125 anti-aircraft guns and equipment to counter Iranian-supplied drones. This followed the announcement earlier this month that a further 1,000 surface-to-air missiles would be sent.

The Sea Kings donated to Ukraine were previously used by both the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy, with the last of these aircraft being decommissioned in 2018.