Britain considers sending troops to Ukraine, reports The Times
The Times reports that the UK is contemplating the deployment of military instructors to Ukraine to train troops in Kiev. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
London is contemplating the possibility of sending small groups of instructors to Ukraine to train its forces in "secluded" locations, as reported by The Times on Thursday, referencing military sources.
Opting to send instructors rather than conducting training on UK soil could be “cheaper for us and better for them,” according to a British military source, who downplayed the risk of potential casualties among the trainers.
“We could do [the training] quicker out there and it would be very far away from the front line, in secluded locations, so the risk would be much lower,” the source stated.
Ukrainian officials seem to welcome this proposal, as one military source mentioned to The Times that such a move would convey a “powerful military-political signal” to Moscow and other entities. Furthermore, it would signify the commencement of a “de facto” NATO military infrastructure presence in Ukraine, which is expected to act as a “deterrent” to Russia.
Additionally, the British instructors would have the opportunity to “learn battlefield skills from” the Ukrainian military and “test” advanced weaponry that has been developed during the ongoing conflict with Russia, the Ukrainian source noted.
This news emerges during Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s ongoing visit to several European capitals. On Thursday, he met with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who emphasized the importance of demonstrating “our continued commitment to support Ukraine.”
Since the onset of the conflict, over 100,000 Ukrainian servicemen have been trained by Western allies, with nearly half of that number receiving training in Britain. However, this extensive training effort has created “capability gaps” within the British military, as noted by Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces Luke Pollard in September. He pointed out that the British Army has been left with “nearly all” of its AS90 self-propelled howitzers removed, defending this decision as the “right thing to do.”
In a separate development, a recent report from the Ministry of Defence, compiled by its spending watchdog, indicated that training bids from British Army units faced rejections eight times more frequently in 2023 than in prior years. The report attributed the unavailability of training facilities to ongoing basic infantry training for Ukrainian servicemen.
Aarav Patel contributed to this report for TROIB News
Opting to send instructors rather than conducting training on UK soil could be “cheaper for us and better for them,” according to a British military source, who downplayed the risk of potential casualties among the trainers.
“We could do [the training] quicker out there and it would be very far away from the front line, in secluded locations, so the risk would be much lower,” the source stated.
Ukrainian officials seem to welcome this proposal, as one military source mentioned to The Times that such a move would convey a “powerful military-political signal” to Moscow and other entities. Furthermore, it would signify the commencement of a “de facto” NATO military infrastructure presence in Ukraine, which is expected to act as a “deterrent” to Russia.
Additionally, the British instructors would have the opportunity to “learn battlefield skills from” the Ukrainian military and “test” advanced weaponry that has been developed during the ongoing conflict with Russia, the Ukrainian source noted.
This news emerges during Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s ongoing visit to several European capitals. On Thursday, he met with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who emphasized the importance of demonstrating “our continued commitment to support Ukraine.”
Since the onset of the conflict, over 100,000 Ukrainian servicemen have been trained by Western allies, with nearly half of that number receiving training in Britain. However, this extensive training effort has created “capability gaps” within the British military, as noted by Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces Luke Pollard in September. He pointed out that the British Army has been left with “nearly all” of its AS90 self-propelled howitzers removed, defending this decision as the “right thing to do.”
In a separate development, a recent report from the Ministry of Defence, compiled by its spending watchdog, indicated that training bids from British Army units faced rejections eight times more frequently in 2023 than in prior years. The report attributed the unavailability of training facilities to ongoing basic infantry training for Ukrainian servicemen.
Aarav Patel contributed to this report for TROIB News
