Britain announces possible sending of troops to Ukraine

British Defense Secretary John Healey said that his troops could go to Ukraine to train soldiers. He became the first government official to publicly support this step.

This was reported by The Telegraph.

Sending British troops to Ukraine

The newspaper reported that during his visit to Kyiv on December 18, Healey said he had "opened the door" to sending British troops to Ukraine to help train the Defense Forces. He is convinced that training should be made more relevant to what Ukrainians really need.

"We need to make it easier for Ukrainians to access and work with Ukrainians to help them motivate and mobilize more recruits," the minister emphasized.

Asked by the media whether this meant the start of exercises involving the British military on the territory of Ukraine, he said that the government would look for opportunities to respond to Ukraine's requests.

Former British Defense Secretary Grant Shaps also expressed support for such a move in an interview with the Sunday Telegraph last year. Healy is considered to be the first government official to put forward the same proposal.

Healey's statement came after he announced a new aid package for Ukraine worth £225 million. In addition, he believes that if Kyiv does enter into negotiations with Russia, it will be only "from a position of strength, not weakness".

A few days earlier, the UK announced an urgent allocation of 35 million pounds sterling(about 42 million euros) to Ukraine. These funds are intended to support Ukraine's energy system and the most vulnerable categories of the population.

In addition, Germany has also allocated 70 million euros to Ukraine. These funds will be used to purchase small thermal power plants, boilers and other energy equipment.