London: As tensions rise over Ukraine, the United Kingdom has sent more than 100 special forces advisers to Kiev to train and aid the Ukrainian military.
The British newspaper Mirror reported on Sunday said, citing a military source, “UK special forces have been deployed to the region to help and advise the Ukrainian military. They have a wide skill set which will no doubt be very useful to the Ukrainian forces.”
The British troops from the SAS, the SBS, the Special Reconnaissance Regiment and the Special Forces Support, which are no longer engaged in Afghanistan, are expected to teach Ukrainian special forces counter-insurgency tactics, sniping and sabotage, according to reports.
The precarious situation around Ukraine has deteriorated in recent weeks with the United States and European Union voicing concerns over the Russian military buildup at the Ukrainian border, and NATO urging allies to enhance their military support for Kiev.
So far, the US, UK, Canada, Poland and Baltic states have supplied several batches of weapons to Ukraine, with Washington dispatching additional forces to neighboring Poland and Romania. Russia in turn has repeatedly denied having intentions to invade any country, pointing to NATO’s military activity near its borders, which it deems a threat to its national security.
