UK planes took a long detour around Germany to deliver weapons to Ukraine in case Russia invades

The British Royal Air Force planes flew around German airspace when they delivered anti-tank weaponry to Ukraine on Monday.

In recent weeks, the US, UK, and Germany have been called on by the Ukrainian government to provide military aid to counter the Russian troops at its border. The US and Ukraine have warned of an invasion by Russia.

Ben Wallace, the UK defense minister, told Parliament on Monday that Britain was sending "light, anti-armor, defensive weapon systems" to Ukraine in case of a Russian invasion.

The weapons were transported on several RAF C17 planes that flew to Ukraine by an unusual route: through the Danes rather than the Germans.

An image from Flightradar shows the flight path of the C-17 that flew to Ukraine.

Flightradar 24

Germany declined to send arms to Ukraine in December.

The Ukrainian news outlet ZN reported that Germany has stopped NATO shipments of anti-drone weaponry from the US and Lithuania.

Germany denied the C-17s permission to use its airspace, according to the Daily Mail.

A UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) spokesman told Insider that Germany had not denied access to its airspace as the UK did not submit a request.

The British had not applied for the flights, according to the German defense ministry.

The C-17s were allowed to use German airspace.

The planes avoided German airspace on their return flights to RAF BrizeNorton.
The Insider asked theMOD why it didn't request access to German air space.

The photo was taken on November 9, 2021, and shows elements of the 41st Combined Arms Army, including hundreds of tanks, self-propelled artillery and other military equipment deployed in a training area located approximately 160 miles north of the Russia–Ukraine border.

Satellite image from Maxar Technologies.

The UK sent a small number of troops to help with early-stage training for a short period of time. There are a number of British troops in Ukraine.

Wallace said in December that the UK wouldn't send troops to Ukraine if Russia invaded.

President Joe Biden warned Russia that it will face sanctions if it invades Ukraine.

In December, the US sent a shipment of military aid to Ukraine, according to CNN. CNN reported that four counter-mortar radars were to be sent from the US to Ukraine.