Great Britain will deliver Ukraine short-range anti-tank missile self-defense, said UK Secretary of Defense Ben Wallis.
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Ben Wolless told British MPs that a small team of British troops would be sent to Ukraine to provide training. He added that there is a “legitimate and genuine cause for concern” that Russia troops could be used to invade Ukraine, writes the British broadcaster BBC. The Secretary of Defense did not mention the specific model of weapons to be delivered to Ukraine.
Tensions have escalated in recent months due to the concentration of Russian forces on Ukraine’s borders. Moscow has concentrated about 100,000 troops on the Ukrainian border. Russia has denied any plans to invade Ukraine, and the United States and other Western countries have warned Moscow of the serious consequences of aggressively targeting Ukraine.
Since 2015, there have been dozens of British troops in Ukraine who have been there to help train the Ukrainian armed forces. The United Kingdom is also committed to helping rebuild Ukraine’s fleet following Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
Walless said the UK would provide additional security assistance to Ukraine in response to Russia’s “increasingly threatening behavior”.
“Ukraine has every right to defend its borders, and this new aid package further enhances its ability to do so,” the British defense secretary told deputies. “Let me be clear: this support is for short-range and clearly defensive weapons capabilities; they are not strategic weapons and do not pose a threat to Russia; they can be used in self-defense,” Voles said.
Walless also said that a package of sanctions had been prepared in case Russia took any “destabilizing actions” in Ukraine. The Secretary of Defense said that any invasion of Russia would be considered an “occupation”, which would lead to great devastation for all parties involved. “I still hope that diplomacy will prevail [Krievijas] president [Vladimira] “Putin’s choice is whether to choose diplomacy and dialogue, or conflict and consequences,” Walless said.
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