The British Empire is maneuvering to control crucial elements and forces of Ukrainian defense policy, in order to dominate that policy. Since 2015, the British have sunk multiple hooks into Ukraine’s Defense Ministry and Armed Forces, and the June 23 deployment of the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Defender to violate Russia’s maritime border around Crimea in the Black Sea should be seen in this context. That naval deployment, severely condemned by the Russian government, whose military dropped high explosive fragmentation bombs in the Defender’s path of movement, could have escalated to potentially nuclear levels.
The June 24 Morning Briefing reported that on June 22, the U.K. and Ukrainian governments signed an agreement—on the deck of the HMS Defender in Odessa—for a British $1.7 billion sale of eight Barzan-class fast-attack missile boats to the Ukrainian Navy. The June 22 Defense News reported that at the same time, that British military contractors, including missile maker MBDA, sensor builder Thales, and project management consultancy Royal Haskoning DHV, are in touch with Ukraine to help Ukraine’s military.
Further, in 2015, Britain initiated Operation ORBITAL, the codename given to the U.K. Armed Forces’ deployment in Ukraine. A few hundred British troops are training Ukrainians in: 1) Medical; 2) Logistics; 3) Counter Improvised Explosive Devices; 4) Anti-Armor; 5) Counter-sniping; and 6) Mortar-planning, according to the program. But it is likely that the training goes further. The British have reportedly trained 18,100 Ukrainian troops in British methods.
At the same time, the British undertook a parallel mission for the Ukrainian Navy, attempting to integrate it into NATO’s mission. On August 19, 2020, U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace defined its objective, “The Maritime Training Initiative will enable even closer collaboration with the NATO Alliance and Armed Forces around the world, and allows us to build on Ukraine’s new NATO Enhanced Opportunities Partner status.” Wallace threatened that its mission would engage in combatting “threats in the Black Sea.” Now the British are building combat ships for the Ukrainians, even as the U.S. is purportedly holding back funds for lethal weapons for Ukraine.
