UK will send soldiers to Ukraine. Clear declaration

British soldiers may appear in Ukraine. The new Defense Minister Grant Shapps wants military instructors to go there, who have so far trained Ukrainians only in the UK or in other NATO countries.

The new UK Defense Minister, Grant Shapps, has announced that British soldiers will appear in Ukraine for the first time. Such plans are already being discussed with military command.

"In a conversation with 'The Telegraph', Grant Shapps said that he is in negotiations with the leadership of the British army about moving the official program of training Ukrainian soldiers under British command directly to Ukraine, to not rely on bases in Great Britain and other NATO members. He also called on British defense companies to open factories in Ukraine." - reports the Ukrainian agency Unian, referring to an interview in 'The Telegraph'.

The topic made it to the front page of the paper edition of "The Sunday Telegraph".

"I talked today about finally bringing the training closer and actually conducting it in Ukraine as well," Shapps told The Telegraph. "Especially in the west of the country. I think now is the opportunity to introduce more things 'in the country'," he added.

So far, Britain and their allies have avoided a formal military presence in Ukraine in order to reduce the risk of a direct conflict with Russia - reminds Reuters.

Last year, the United Kingdom provided five-week military training for about 20,000 Ukrainian soldiers.

Shapps visited Kiev on Thursday, where he met with Volodymyr Zelensky. After the meeting, the president's office announced that the conversation with the British minister pertained, among other things, to "strengthening the Ukrainian anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense forces, a component of the armed forces, which 'is of particular importance ahead of the coming winter'".

Shapps, previously serving as the Minister of Energy Security, was appointed as the Minister of Defense on September 1. He replaced Ben Wallace, who, as previously announced, resigned.

54-year-old Shapps is one of the most experienced politicians in Rishi Sunak's government. He held deputy ministerial positions during the government of David Cameron and, after Boris Johnson assumed the office of Prime Minister in 2019, he became the Minister of Transport. Later, he was the Minister of the Interior in the briefly existing cabinet of Liz Truss, and in October of last year, Sunak, on assuming power, entrusted him with the function of Minister of Business. In February of this year, Shapps took over the newly created ministry of energy security.

Source: "The Telegraph", Unian, Reuters, PAP