 Britain scrapped dozens of tanks that could have been sent to Ukraine. The British military destroyed dozens of Challenger II tanks that could have been sent to Ukraine to help it fight Russia, the Times has reported. A total of 43 main battle tanks were scrapped by the UK Ministry of Defence between 2010 and 2014, the paper revealed, citing a freedom of information disclosure. The disposal cost around US$5.5 million and needed to be made because the Challenger II tanks were in a condition beyond any economic repair the document read. The decision was made before Crimea voted to rejoin Russia and relations between Moscow and the West began to deteriorate rapidly. The outlet emphasised that the British military has generally underestimated the importance of tanks on the modern battlefield. The Defence Ministry procured 386 Challenger IIs in the mid-1990s but the number was cut by 40% as part of the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review. Britain now plans to reduce its tank fleet to 148 while upgrading to the new Challenger III version, the paper reported. Another 75 older Challengers have been put into long-term storage, a decision which was criticised by the Chairman of the Defence Select Committee Tobias Elwood. According to the Times, he argued that the tanks should have been sent to Ukraine instead. Russia, London has provided Kiev with 14 Challenger II tanks. However, there have been no reports of Ukraine using them despite actively deploying German made Leopard IIs and American Bradley fighting vehicles.