Britain may send troops to Ukraine to train new recruits - The Times

The UK military leadership is considering sending troops to Ukraine. They will assist in the training of new recruits.

This was reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to The Times.

According to the publication, plans are being discussed for small groups of British military instructors to go to western Ukraine. There, they will help provide basic training for Ukrainian recruits before they go to the front line in the east of the country.

According to the newspaper's sources, such a decision by the British would solve some of the logistical problems associated with sending Ukrainian military to British bases for training, as well as save money.

It is worth recalling that as part of the multinational military operation codenamed Interflex, tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have been trained in the UK. But according to British Defense Secretary John Healey, the “biggest obstacle” to training Ukrainians is “Ukraine's provision of personnel for training.”

According to another source, sending British troops to Ukraine instead of training at military bases in the UK would be “cheaper and better.”

“We could conduct (the training - ed.) there faster, and it would be very far from the front line, in secluded places, so the risk would be much lower,” the source said.

At the same time, a Ukrainian military source said that moving the exercises to Ukraine would be a “powerful military and political signal” to other countries and to Russia itself. It will also mark the beginning of the “de facto” deployment of NATO military infrastructure in Ukraine and will be a “powerful deterrent.” This decision will also allow the British military to learn combat skills from the Ukrainian military. It will also allow them to test the latest weapons being developed for war.

The Ukrainian source said they hope that the British leadership will inspire France to follow suit and conduct exercises in Ukraine after discussions in Paris seem to have stalled for political reasons.

Author - Olena Madiak, 10/10/2024