British Army To Train 4,000 Ukrainian Forces By 2017
MEP: British instructors will train some 4,000 Ukrainian military troops by March 2017, the UK’s Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs Philip Hammond said.
“UK is going to train 4,000 Ukrainian militaries until March 2017 as we have a very active cooperation with Ukraine – Foreign Secretary @PHammondPM told UA media on the margins of NATO Warsaw Summit,” the Embassy tweeted on Friday.
Britain’s top diplomat expressed optimism about the deepening military cooperation between NATO and the Western-backed Kiev. He said the UK intends to make a “significant contribution” to such collaboration, especially in the area of the training of Ukrainian soldiers.
He also emphasized that the process of Montenegro’s accession to NATO shows that the alliance’s door is potentially open to all countries, including Ukraine.
Hammond’s latest remarks came as the alliance plans to deploy four multinational battalions in the Baltic States and Poland, supplemented by nearly 1,200 combat vehicles, including 30 warplanes, mostly dedicated to countering what they claim is Russia’s growing assertiveness.
In March, British Secretary of State for Defense Michael Fallon said in a statement that the UK instructors and advisers already trained 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers, adding that there are plans to train 300 more in 2016.
