Boris Johnson has revealed that dozens of Ukrainian soldiers are being trained in the United Kingdom, learning how to use 120 British armored vehicles before returning with them to fight in the war against Russia.
British forces are also training Ukrainian counterparts in Poland on how to use anti-aircraft missiles, the prime minister said as he outlined further details about the UK’s military aid to Kyiv’s military.
“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,” Johnson said during a trip to India, where he was to meet with his counterpart. , Narendra Modi.
As the Russian invasion draws to a third month, the United Kingdom and other Western countries have begun supplying Kyiv with standard NATO weapons that require short training periods so that Ukrainian troops know how to use them.
This week, the Pentagon said it would train some Ukrainians to use the first batch of 18 US howitzers “out of the country” before the weapons could be used on the battlefield.
Both statements signal a step towards greater Western involvement in the war, which is focused on supplying weapons to Ukrainian forces and targeting Russia with broad economic sanctions.
But Johnson’s spokesman insisted that training Ukrainians in the UK was not escalating. “The actions of Putin and his regime in Ukraine are escalating. “We are just working with our allies to give Ukraine the best protection,” he said.
Russia is gradually gaining strength in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine, where Western authorities believe Moscow already has a three-to-one advantage over defenders. Although it is unclear whether Russian forces can break through, the United States and the United Kingdom are preparing for a long period of arms supplies.
Johnson will discuss with Modi the situation in Ukraine. India, which buys military equipment from Russia, abstained on a UN proposal condemning Putin’s actions in Ukraine in early March. During the trip, the UK government announced it would issue an open common export license (OGEL) to India, the first to be granted in the Indo-Pacific region.
This move potentially allows the UK to send weapons without having to license them on a case-by-case basis. The government said OGEL was cutting red tape and cutting deadlines for defense contracts.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Joe Biden announced an additional $ 800 million (£ 614 million) in military supplies to Ukraine, including 72 howitzers and 144,000 artillery shells, while European countries such as the Czech Republic delivered tanks designed by the Soviet Union. are used by Kyiv.
Britain has agreed to send at least 120 armored vehicles, 80 of which are protected Mastiff, Husky and Wolfhound mobile vehicles, which the British military says are intended to be used in “combat, combat and combat service roles”. who drive troops from behind and to the front line.
The remaining 40 vehicles are for combat reconnaissance, including the Spartan, which can carry four soldiers plus three crew, Samaritan ambulances, Sultan armored command vehicles and Samson armored rescue vehicles.
Training on them takes several weeks, defense sources said, largely to allow Ukrainians to familiarize themselves with existing management systems.
It is alleged that British forces in Poland are training the Ukrainian military to use the Starstreak air defense missile system and the Stormer vehicles from which the weapons are fired.
A Johnson spokesman said: “Together with our allies, we are moving towards 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.”
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