Operations continue in the aftermath of the deadly Russian strike on an apartment building in the city of Nipro, emergency workers have said there is little hope of pulling out more survivors from the rubble.
At least 30 have been killed in the attack and at least 30 more are injured. After the attack, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky called for more weapons from his Western allies to counter Russian threats.
As fighting continues in eastern Ukraine, the United Kingdom's government has confirmed that it will be the first NATO country to supply its ally with Western tanks.
A squadron of 14 tanks called the Challenger Two, will deploy to the conflict in the coming weeks. But what is the Challenger Two and what kind of impact can it have on the war? The Challenger Two is what's called a main battle tank, or MBT, and it's specifically designed to attack other tanks and armored vehicles seen here during NATO exercises two years ago.
Until now, Ukraine's military has primarily relied on its older Soviet era tanks. It's also captured and repurposed some of Russia's during the invasion. President Zelensky has long pleaded with allied countries to include their tanks and aid packages. But some Western officials have been cautious over the concern that Russia or even China could get their hands on advanced Western military technology. Moscow's also likely to see the introduction of Western tanks onto the battlefield as an escalation of the war, and NATO is desperate it not to be drawn more directly into it.
The Challenger Two has been in service with the British army since 1994 and has been deployed to Bosnia, Iraq and other crises. The UK's gift could put added pressure on other NATO countries, particularly the US and Germany to give their own tanks which have so far resisted. Along with the challenger to Britain's also giving Ukraine about 30 artillery vehicles called the as 90. It will take time to train the Ukrainian forces on how to use the British tanks in artillery and Russia's London embassies dismissing the development.
The embassy says the challengers are unlikely to turn the tide of the war will drag it out and will be targeted by Russia's own forces.
