The tanks were declared "beyond any economic repair," while the disposal cost British taxpayers 4.3 million pounds ($5.5 million), the newspaper reported on Sunday. Another 75 tanks were sent to long-term storage.
Tobias Ellwood, the chair of the House of Commons Defense Committee, said that these tanks should have been transferred to Ukraine. He additionally said that the actual number of fully operational tanks in the country's reserve amounts to only one tank regiment, which is approximately 44 vehicles.
In January, the UK announced 14 Challenger 2 tanks would be sent to Ukraine. Earlier in July, UK Defense Minister Ben Wallace said London spent $3 billion on military assistance for Ukraine between April 2022 and March 2023.