In Britain, the government wants to move the training of Ukrainian soldiers to the war. It is in an interview with British Telegraph as newly appointed Defense Minister Grant Shapps talks about the plans.
Ukrainian soldiers are now being trained on British soil by British soldiers, but Grant Shapps expects the training to be carried out in Ukraine in the future.
It would mean that British troops will be on Ukrainian soil.
Russian anger: “Becoming legal targets”
The Minister of Defense also mentions that defense production which is currently carried out outside the country’s borders should be relevant in Ukraine.
– I think there will be more education and production in the country, he says in the interview.
– Especially in the western parts of the country, I think there is an opportunity to bring more things into the country. Not only training, but we also see BAE (the British defense company, ed. note) moving into manufacturing in the country.
Britain and other NATO countries have during the war avoided sending soldiers and having a military presence in Ukraine due to the risk of a direct conflict with Russia.
After the interview, Dmitry Medvedev, vice-chairman of the Russian Security Council, has come down hard on Britain.
“It means that you turn your instructors into legitimate targets for our armed forces, knowing that they will be mercilessly destroyed. No longer as mercenaries, but as British NATO specialists,” he writes on Telegram.
Lieutenant Colonel Joakim Paasikivi is not surprised by the British message.
– There are no concrete commitments but a step in the normalization that is now taking place, that industries and defense production from a number of different countries will be moved to Ukraine, he says to TV4 Nyheterna.
Paasikivi: “Changes the situation significantly”
At the same time, the lieutenant colonel believes that the announcement is a signal to Russia.
– If it is carried out, it changes the situation considerably. After all, there will be foreign troops on Ukrainian soil who will train Ukrainians to fight against Russians. It becomes a natural target for Russian robot attacks, says Joakim Paasikivi.
– This is probably a vision of the future, but if it were to be implemented, the temperature would increase.
Even the Prime Minister of Great Britain has emphasized that British soldiers in Ukraine are a matter for the future.
– What the Minister of Defense talked about is that one day in the future it could be possible for us to carry out parts of the training in Ukraine, he says according to Sky News.
– No British soldiers will be sent to fight in the current conflict. That’s not what happens.