UK forces have finished military training in Ukraine -minister
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LONDON, Feb 17 (Reuters) – Britain has finished its military training activities in Ukraine and the only remaining UK troops in the country are there to protect the ambassador, Britain’s Armed Forces minister James Heappey said on Thursday.
Britain had supplied defensive weapons and training personnel to Ukraine.
“Within Ukraine itself, there is a small force that remains for the purposes of protecting the ambassador and her team,” Heappey told BBC Television. “Beyond that, all of our training activity alongside the Ukrainians has been ceased and we’ve been very clear throughout that there will be no UK involvement in any conflict in Ukraine.”
In other comments to the British media, he added that the West is entering a new period of competition with Russia that could last more than a generation, British armed forces minister James Heappey said.
I appreciate the support of Great Britain and grateful to @BorisJohnson for the unity with 🇺🇦! This is very important for us, especially now! Let's join forces to preserve peace! 🇺🇦🤝🇬🇧 #StrongerTogether
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 17, 2022
Asked during an interview on LBC Radio if the constant threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine felt like a return to the Cold War era, Heappey said: “Whether he (Russian President Vladimir Putin) invades or not, I think we have to be clear that we are entering a new period of acute competition with Russia that could last a generation or more.”
Britain’s defence minister said on Thursday that Ukraine was on a pathway towards NATO membership and that London had made it clear to the Kremlin that the alliance’s policy of welcoming new members will not change.
“We remain an open-door organization,” Ben Wallace told reporters at the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. “I’ve made it very clear to the Kremlin that countries choose NATO. NATO doesn’t go around choosing the countries.”
Wallace also said NATO was right to respond to what he said were 150,000 Russian troops massed on Russia’s borders near Ukraine. “This is a real challenge to the stability of Europe.”
Photo – An Ukrainian serviceman operates with NLAW anti-tank missile system at the Yavoriv military base in western Ukraine, close to the border with Poland. The first group of Ukrainian servicemen finished training for the use of British NLAW light anti-tank missiles. Great Britain started supplying the anti-tank systems on 18 January 2022 amid escalation on the Ukraine – Russia border. EPA-EFE/MARKIIAN LYSEIKO
