UK may send British troops to Ukraine to train soldiers, defence secretary suggests
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John Healey has said Britain needs to ‘make the training a better fit for what the Ukrainians need’ and left the door open to it taking place in the war-torn country. British troops may be sent to Ukraine to train up soldiers in its war against Russia, the defence secretary has hinted.
![[Britain’s defence secretary John Healey has said it is a ‘critical period’ for Ukraine]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/19/05/11782687.jpg)
John Healey has said Britain needs to “make the training a better fit for what the Ukrainians need” and left the door open to it taking place in the war-torn country. Ministry of Defence (MoD) sources have previously told The Independent discussions are ongoing about whether to send troops to the country to support it amid Russia’s invasion.
There is already a small number of British medical personnel in Ukraine, delivering training and mentoring to the country’s armed forces. And the UK has trained tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers in the UK under Operation Interflex, but defence secretary John Healey said in October that the “biggest constraint” to the scheme is Ukraine sending the personnel over to be trained.
Asked if this meant extending training of Ukrainian recruits inside the UK to Ukraine itself, he said: “We will look wherever we can to respond to what the Ukrainians want. They are the ones fighting.”. Also on his trip to Kyiv, Mr Healey pledged a new £225 million package of support for Ukraine after the defence secretary said the situation in the country is "critical".
