UK PM Johnson says Britain trained 22K Ukrainian troops, mulls further military support

On Thursday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that Britain has trained 22,000 Ukrainian soldiers since 2014, given thousands of lethal armament units, and is considering taking furr military cooperation steps with Kyiv.

"We have trained 22,000 Ukrainian soldiers since 2014. We have sent some anti-tank weapons, 2,000 of m, in last two or three months. We will think about what else we might be able to provide," Johnson remarked during a joint press conference with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, Sputnik reported. 

According to a Parliamentary report filed earlier this month, British troops are providing ammunition and training to Ukrainian forces as part of Operation Orbital. In 2022, UK provided 2.2 million pounds (Rs 22.50 crore) in n-lethal military equipment to Kyiv, as well as first delivery of lethal armaments under project.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Defense Ministry anunced on January 25 that its soldiers h conducted training exercises with British military visers on use of recently delivered anti-tank missile systems NLAW, as per  Sputnik report. 

UK troops join NATO partners for military drills in Estonia

In wake of escalating tensions between Ukraine and Russia, UK troops have also joined NATO partners for military drills in Estonia. troops have been sent to Estonia to train with Estonian forces in a deterrent operation against Russian aggression, Associated Press (AP) reported.

UK PM Johnson has stated that he is considering sending Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoon fighter jets and Royal Navy warships to souastern Europe. Earlier, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace stated that Britain would send 350 ditional troops to Poland amid ongoing standoff between Russia and Ukraine. 

UK to place 1,000 troops on standby to deploy to Eastern Europe

It is worth mentioning here that United Kingdom has decided to place 1,000 troops on standby to deploy to Eastern Europe if a refugee crisis occurs as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. UK government has warned that if Russia inves Ukraine, it might end in a humanitarian disaster.

US has also warned that a large-scale displacement of 1-5 million people could occur, with majority of refugees settling in Poland. UK anunced in December, last year, that it would send 100 engineers to Poland to help secure country's eastern border, as per Guardian. 

(Im: AP)