According to the BBC, the delivery of the Sea King helicopters, one of which is already on Ukrainian territory, was announced by British Defense Minister Ben Wallace during a meeting with his Western counterparts in Oslo, Norway.

The helicopters, which were used by the British Royal Air Force and Royal Navy until 2018, would be the first manned aircraft sent by London to Kiev since the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine last February.

The Ukrainian pilots who will fly the aircraft received training in the UK in recent weeks, the report adds.

The delivery of the helicopters comes just days after British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made a surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital, from where he announced the shipment of 125 anti-aircraft guns and technology to counter unmanned drone attacks.

London became the second largest arms supplier to Kiev after Russia launched last February 24 what President Vladimir Putin called a special military operation to demilitarize and denazify the neighboring country.

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