Russia's Zakharova claims instructors from West, NATO training Ukrainian troops

As Ukraine is getting assistance from the Western countries to fight the Russian forces, Russia has blamed Western countries and NATO for training the Ukrainian forces. Russia Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, issued a statement on Telegram stating that NATO instructors have been training Ukrainian soldiers for a long time and that it is no longer a secret. She reacted to a statement made by Waldemar Skrzypczak, a former commander of Polish troops, who accused British Prime Minister Boris Johnson of leaking military secrets after he revealed that Polish and British instructors were training Ukrainian soldiers to utilize NATO weaponry.

Zakharova further stated that this hasn't been kept a secret for a long time and for years, instructors from Poland, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and other countries have been herding "neo-Nazi militants." She claimed the instructors are involved in the handling of conflicts in Ukraine. During a visit to India, UK PM Johnson discussed how the Polish military is training Ukrainians to utilize air defence systems and how Britain is ready to manage armoured vehicles.

Special Air Service (SAS) of Great Britain were deployed into the Lviv region

Russian law enforcement official who spoke to RIA Novosti stated that two dozen professionals from the Special Air Service (SAS) of Great Britain were deployed into the Lviv region. They are thought to be among the best in the world. Alexander Bastrykin, who is the head of the Investigative Committee of Russia, has already directed that this information will be analysed as soon as possible.

British SAS forces are training Ukrainian soldiers on how to use UK-supplied NLAW anti-tank missile launchers, according to Times. British military trainers had been stationed in Ukraine since Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, but they were withdrawn in February as the likelihood of Putin launching a full-fledged invasion of Ukraine grew.

Russia-Ukraine war

Russia began its military operation to demilitarize and "denazify" Ukraine on February 24th. Russian President stated that the purpose of the military operation is to defend individuals who have been subjected to "torture and atrocities" by the Kyiv administration for the past eight years. Russia's aim is the liberation of the Donbas region.

Image: AP