For the first time, Ukrainian troops on the front line are being trained to use military equipment on British soil.
Ukrainian fighters have come to Britain to learn how to drive the 120 armored vehicles promised by Boris Johnson to President Vladimir Zelensky during his recent visit to Kyiv.
The location of the mission and the exact number of participants – “about a few dozen in total” – are kept strictly secret for security reasons.
But such training is often conducted at Salisbury Plain military training grounds in Wiltshire, where Ukrainian defense chiefs recently observed demonstrations of the Stormer armored missile system.
Britain supplies Mastiff armored patrol cars to Ukrainian troops
(PA)
The Stormer system, designed to launch a UK-made Starstreak high-speed air defense projectile, is being sent to Ukraine as part of Mr Johnson’s military aid package.
Ukrainians currently in the UK do not receive training in tracked combat reconnaissance vehicles (CRVs) and protective mobility vehicles (PMVs).
These include the Mastiff PMV – widely used by UK troops in Afghanistan and Iraq – as well as Husky and Wolfhound tactical support vehicles, the Sultan command and control vehicle, Samson armored rescue vehicles and Samaritan armored ambulances.
Some mastiffs are already on their way to Ukraine to help counter Putin’s renewed attack in the eastern Donbass region.
Johnson promised armored vehicles during his recent visit to Kyiv
(PA)
Mr Johnson told reporters: “I can say that we are currently training Ukrainians in Poland on the use of air defense and, in fact, in the United Kingdom on the use of armored vehicles.
The United Kingdom has been involved in training Ukrainian forces since the Russian invasions of Crimea and Donbas in 2014, but Mr Johnson’s comment was the first official confirmation that the country’s troops are being trained in Britain.
A spokesman for the prime minister said: “We are moving, together with our allies, to providing new types of equipment that Ukrainians may not have previous experience with, so it is wise to receive the necessary training to make the best use of it. from him.”
Asked if such a move was escalating, he said: “The actions of Putin and his regime in Ukraine are escalating. We are simply working with our allies to give Ukraine the best defense tools.”
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