Some UK Officials Reluctant to Give NLAWs to Kiev, Ex-PM Johnson Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson says that a number British officials were against the supply of NLAW anti-tank grenade launchers to Ukraine.

During the discussions on the issue, which started as early as 2021, some officials warned that providing NLAW anti-tank systems might "provoke" Russian President Vladimir Putin, Johnson said in an interview with his friend and colleague Nadine Dorries, the former UK Culture Secretary.

According to a document obtained by Sputnik in March, 2022, UK instructors trained Ukrainian soldiers in the use of weapons in 2018 when the parties to the Minsk process were trying to resolve the Donbass conflict peacefully, and London had not yet announced the supply of NLAW anti-tank grenade launchers.

A Sputnik correspondent found the document in the Donbass city of Volnovakha, which included a certificate proving that Ukrainian soldier Boris Kazaryan took courses for junior sergeants with the participation of British instructors between October 17, 2018, and November 2, 2018. There was also a large number of NLAW launchers.

London announced the supply of NLAW anti-tank grenade launchers to Ukraine in January, 2022.

Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, after the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics (DPR and LPR) appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian provocations. In response to Russia’s operation, Western countries have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow and have been supplying weapons to Ukraine.