The British government wants to send trainers to Ukraine to train Ukrainian soldiers. This was stated by British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps in an interview with The Guardian Sunday Telegraph He said.

Until now, Britain, like its allies, has avoided a formal military presence in Ukraine itself to reduce the risk of direct conflict with Russia. Therefore, military training took place outside Ukraine.

In the interview, Shapps said there was scope for providing military training in Ukraine. He said this based on a conversation on Friday with British military commanders. Over the past year, about 20,000 Ukrainians received five-week military training courses in Britain. There is talk of a similar number next year.

“I was talking today about eventually bringing the training closer and actually bringing it to Ukraine,” Shapps said. He added: “Especially in the west of the country, I think there is now an opportunity to do more things in the country itself.” He also referred to the construction of weapons factories.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that he wants to turn his country’s defense industry into a “major military center” by working with Western arms manufacturers to boost arms supplies for Kiev’s counterattack on Russia.

Shapps has been serving as Defense Minister since September 1, succeeding the resigned Ben Wallace.

Editorial