U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey claims that he loses sleep about sending British troops into combat, yet he’s ready to send a “training mission” into Ukraine. He’s also worried that talk of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine is weakening Ukraine’s will against Russia. Healey told The Times, while on a visit to Kiev, that he is “worried Ukraine is under pressure” and adds: “I am worried about the way Russia is escalating in recent weeks.”
He has pledged to put “a lot more pressure” on Russia. Next year, the U.K. will send more money and more lethal weaponry to Ukraine and adapt its training program to better suit Ukrainian troops, The Times of London reported. This could mean British troops carrying out training inside Ukraine itself. Healey told Kiev’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov that the pledges would form part of a five-point plan the U.K. has devised to help Ukraine in the months ahead. He is keen that the U.K. be seen to be taking a leading role on Ukraine, as Trump comes back into power, while France and Germany are undergoing political turmoil.
Healey claimed that Britain needs to “make the training a better fit for what the Ukrainians need.” He told The Times that Britain needs to “make it easier for the Ukrainians to access and we [need to] work with the Ukrainians to help them motivate and mobilise more recruits.” When asked if this meant extending the training of Ukrainian recruits inside the U.K. to Ukraine itself, he said: “We will look wherever we can to respond to what the Ukrainians want. They are the ones fighting.”
