UK provides further support to Ukrainian Armed Forces
The UK will provide nearly £1 million worth of equipment to the Ukraine Armed Forces (UAF) to support them through the colder months.
Training in Ukraine
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon today (19 November) informed Parliament that the UK will provide a £971,000 gifting package as part of our non-lethal support being provided to the UAF.
The equipment being gifted includes 170 large tents, 170 heating units and 600 sets of cold weather clothing.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said:
The UK is committed to supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.
That is why we are providing this gift of non-lethal equipment, to further help prevent Ukrainian fatalities and casualties, strengthen their defensive capability and build their resilience.
Despite the latest ceasefire, UAF personnel remain deployed in the areas affected by conflict and continue to suffer fatalities and casualties.
The proposed gifting package, which has been agreed with the UAF, is designed to prevent further Ukrainian fatalities and casualties and to help improve resilience on the ground. Our overall aim is to strengthen the defensive capability of the UAF.
This most recent provision of support follows a separate announcement made by Mr Fallon earlier this year of uplift to the number of UK training personnel that can be based in Ukraine from April 2016.
This will allow for an increase of 25 UK personnel, taking our total number up to 100 people.
The UK has already stepped up the training programme in Ukraine to include additional infantry, medical and survival skills, and increased the number of Ukrainian soldiers being trained. We have increasingly focussed on train the trainer activities to ensure sustainability.
We are providing non-lethal assistance that has been requested by the Ukrainian Government to enhance the capability of their armed forces to defend themselves.
As of next week, 25 UK teams will have deployed to provide training to the Ukrainian Armed Forces at nine sites.
We continue to train the UAF to develop their skills in infantry, medical care, logistics, urban defensive operations, media and operational planning. We are on course to provide training to 2,000 Ukrainian Armed Forces by the end of the financial year (1 April 2016).