UK paratroopers in Ukraine in show of solidarity

Hundreds of British paratroopers jumped into eastern Ukraine, alongside soldiers from the army's elite Pathfinder unit, for an exercise close to the border with Crimea.

The soldiers, from the UK global response force 16 Air Assault Brigade, were exercising with Ukrainian airborne forces on Friday at a time of increased tension in the region.

British broadcaster Sky News was given rare access to the Pathfinders as they practised covert insertion techniques.

Pathfinders are trained to parachute behind enemy lines, often jumping from high altitude to glide across borders or opening their chutes below radar.

Operating in small teams, they insert themselves into hostile zones days ahead of the main force to secure territory.

The UK operates a separate training mission for Ukrainian forces near Kyiv. Operation Orbital has trained thousands of Ukrainian soldiers since the Russia annexation of Crimea in 2014.

The joint exercise is being seen as a deliberate show of solidarity with Ukraine.

Senior Ukrainian general, Yevhan Moysiuk, said the threat from Russia was growing.

Ukraine and Russia are still fighting in the east of the country and unrest continues in neighbouring Belarus after last month's disputed election.

Belarus's President Alexander Lukashenko claims NATO is massing troops on his country's border.

Although NATO has forcefully denied this, the image of hundreds of British troops parachuting into eastern Ukraine and close to the Crimea border won't go unnoticed in Minsk or Moscow.