To date, NATO allies like Britain have avoided a formal military presence in Ukraine so as to avoid increasing the risk of a direct conflict with Russia – even though its well-known by now that at least hundreds special forces and military specialists from US, Britain, Poland and other member have been carrying out active military operations inside Ukraine for the last 18 months.
Back at home, Britain boasts that it has provided five-week military training courses for around 20,000 Ukrainians over the past year – although this seems to have been a complete failure as Ukraine’s much-vaunted ‘counteroffensive never actually happened in the end. Considering the astronomical numbers of dead Ukrainian soldiers (some estimates put the number at over 300,000 dead) in 18 months, one must ask: how many of those 20,000 trained by the British are still alive? Still, the UK government is doubling-down, determined to train a similar numbers of conscripts going forward, destined for the horrific ‘meat grinder’ on NATO’s proxy front line.
Most competent military experts in the West have already admitted that there is no military path to victory for Ukraine against the superior forces of the Russian Federation. So what is Britain hoping to achieve by dragging on the conflict even more?
How long will this madness go on? Are there any adults left in the room in Washington or London?
UK Telegraph reports…
Britain will ramp up its training programme for Ukrainian soldiers under plans being discussed with military chiefs, the new Defence Secretary has disclosed.
In an interview with The Telegraph, Grant Shapps [pictured above with Zelensky in Kiev] said that he had held talks with Army leaders about moving “more training and production” of military equipment into Ukraine. He also called on more British defence firms to set up factories in Ukraine.
Following a trip to Kyiv last week, Mr Shapps also reveals that he has talked to Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, about how Britain’s Navy could play a role in defending commercial vessels from Russian attacks in the Black Sea.
Both moves would mark a significant escalation in the UK’s involvement in defending Ukraine against Vladimir Putin’s onslaught. Speaking in his first newspaper interview as Defence Secretary, Mr Shapps also:
- Suggested Britain should reprise Liz Truss’s pledge to increase defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP, as he said he viewed the Government’s current target of 2.5 per cent as a “staging post”;
- Revealed that Britain was finding ways to help Ukraine “shape up” for Nato membership;
- Ruled out diversity “quotas” in the military;
- Insisted that migrants who settle in the UK should learn English and “be a productive part of society”, as he weighed in behind Suella Braverman in a row over the Home Secretary’s comments on multiculturalism;
- Said it would be “pretty much irresponsible” not to reconsider plans for the HS2 rail line in light of the costs of Covid and the war in Ukraine.
As part of the British-led Operation Interflex, more than 20,000 recruits from the Armed Forces of Ukraine have already received training in the UK since the start of 2022, learning battle skills on bases such as Salisbury Plain, which Mr Shapps visited on Friday.
Nato members including the UK have avoided carrying out formal training programmes in Ukraine, owing to the risk of personnel being drawn into combat with Russia. Last year, Russia apparently struck a base holding foreign fighters with about 30 missiles.
However, following a briefing with General Sir Patrick Sanders, the Chief of the General Staff, and other senior personnel at Salisbury Plain, Mr Shapps said: “I was talking today about eventually getting the training brought closer and actually into Ukraine as well.”
He added: “Particularly in the west of the country, I think the opportunity now is to bring more things ‘in country’, and not just training but also we’re seeing BAE [the UK defence firm], for example, move into manufacturing in country, for example.
“I’m keen to see other British companies do their bit as well by doing the same thing. So I think there will be a move to get more training and production in the country.”
Separately, having assured Mr Zelensky on Wednesday that the UK “will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine”, Mr Shapps suggested that Britain was preparing to play a more active role helping the country to defend itself against attacks in the Black Sea, where Russia has been increasingly targeting cargo ships carrying grain.
Mr Shapps, who replaced Ben Wallace as Defence Secretary in a mini-reshuffle carried out a month ago, said: “We’ve seen in the last month or so, developments, really the first since 2014 in the Black Sea, in Crimea, and Britain is a naval nation so we can help and we can advise, particularly since the water is international water.
“It’s important that we don’t allow a situation to establish by default that somehow international shipping isn’t allowed in that water. So I think there’s a lot of places where Britain can help advise. [I] did discuss it with President Zelensky and many others this week.”
Offering naval support in the Black Sea would escalate the UK’s involvement in the conflict.
The Defence Secretary’s remarks appear to mark a shift in the Government’s approach to publicly discussing stepping up military involvement in Ukraine – a move that was mirrored by France yesterday when the French military revealed that its aircraft were carrying out surveillance over the Black Sea.
It has previously been claimed that up to 50 British personnel were among Western special forces present in Ukraine earlier this year – a matter that the Government would never discuss publicly.
Continue this story at UK Telegraph
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